To Change a State of Mind
by AwesomeOliver
Summary: 'Maybe…there was more to Hiccup than it seemed.' A look through Astrid's eyes. From finding Toothless to the end of the movie! AstridxHiccup
1. Astrid Meet Toothless

**So...after seeing the movie four and 1/2 times (even dragging my friend along and annoying my parents by making them bring me), getting a HTTYD blanket, videogame, and poster from Wal-mart, eating HTTYD gummies, attempting to draw Toothless on paint, reading up on thousands of fanfiction stories, looking up HTTYD pics on deviantart, and sharing an imaginary Toothless (whom is mine this week!) with one of my best friends, will i _finally _admit that I'm obsessed with this movie?**

**Yes. Yes i will.**

**Which is what compelled me to write this :) Hope it's to everyone's liking! Oh, and this will end up being a two, possibly three, shot so stay tuned for more chapters!**

**So, without further ado! I present...Astrid (and Hiccup and Toothless too!)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own How to Train your Dragon….though I do admit that I had the hiccups a few days ago (that's got to count for **_**something**_**, right?) :-P

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**1. Astrid…Meet Toothless**

I couldn't believe it. I refused to! That Viking, no, that scrawny little twerp, Hiccup, had actually beaten me in Dragon Training! I saw him put down that Gronkle. He didn't even put a scratch on it, yet it still fell to its knees at the slightest touch from him! Something that's impossible even for someone like Stoick the Vast. There was no way anybody could accomplish that in such a short amount of time. He was up to something, I knew it! He disappeared every afternoon, to somewhere in the forest. Seeing him suspiciously running away into the foliage when he caught me training told me that much.

What was he doing? Was he training? Did he have a tutor? Was he conspiring something? Questions floated around my mind, begging to be answered as I quietly jogged through the forest. I stepped lightly, careful not to make a single sound as I followed Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III away from the village and deep into the surrounding forest. I lost track of where we were going when we passed Raven Point, but watching Hiccup, from a precarious distance, I realized that he knew _exactly _where he was going. So, he's done this before!

There was about a ten foot distance between Hiccup and myself, just like I wanted it to be. He hadn't seen or heard me as of yet, and I was pretty sure he wouldn't unless I wanted him to. He was carrying a large pack across one of his shoulders, and was wearing….something over his grass-green tunic, which only increased my suspicions that something was up.

I ran a few feet forward and ducked behind a tree, careful to keep myself concealed amongst the dense forest.

I never really spent too much thought on Hiccup before training. Yes, I knew he was the 'Village idiot', the 'Screw-Up', but I never paid much attention to him in everyday life. I didn't taunt him like the others, but decidedly kept my criticism to myself. He knew he was a klutz, why rub it in his face?

Even at the beginning of Dragon Training, I never paid much attention to him. Unless of course he got in the way, which he usually did. But I never talked to him, never brought a hate-filled fist down upon him (which he's lucky for), and never really had to do with anything concerning the chieftain's son.

That all changed the day we first fought the Zippleback. At first, I just thought that that had been a coincidence. Maybe the dragon didn't like the smell of the blacksmith's shop. I mean, what else could've made the colorful, double-headed dragon back down so willingly? But after a few more days of training, I couldn't help but think that something was wrong. He'd gone from being…well, Hiccup to some celebrity among the village! In a matter of days! It wasn't fair! Who was the one who'd trained all her life to be the best? Who actually took training seriously instead of using it as a chance to almost get herself killed? I was the one who had striven to be the best! And Hiccup, the boy who acted like this whole thing was some childish game, had stolen that chance from me! And he was going to pay dearly. That's why I was walking thought this gods-forsaken forest, waiting for a chance to grab his thin neck and strangle him! Well, maybe not to _that _extent…but I was going to get the message across somehow!

Hiccup stopped, and I stopped as well, keeping myself hidden in the dense undergrowth. He then dropped his pack and dragged it over to a large indenture in the ground. He dropped the pack down a crack in the grey rocks before stepping through and disappearing down himself. Once he was out of sight, I quietly ran to where he went down, and, looking in saw that the fracture led to a large cove. It was actually a pretty place. Secluded and alive, without another person in sight. I kept my eyes on Hiccup, who strolled around to the lake to get a drink of water after his long walk.

I took my chance and leapt down into the island's deep cavity, and I quickly ran and sat myself behind a large, grey rock in the middle of the clearing.

I almost jumped in surprise when Hiccup shouted into the air, "Bud? Where are you? I've got a surprise. We're…leaving. Yup, we're leaving!" _Bud? So there was someone down here! _"Lets pack up. You and me are taking a little vacation…forever."

I heard him move and set down the large pack on the opposite side of the rock I was hiding behind. I took a small peak at him as he flipped the cover open and fiddled with something.

I leapt up onto the large bolder gently, as silent as a cat. I eyed a smaller grey rock lying next to me and grabbed it . Why not frighten the boy a little? I inwardly smirked at the thought.

I watched Hiccup fiddle with the leather straps around his chest, catching the small, exasperated "Ah man" that came out under his breath. As he stood back up I slowly scrapped the granite stone against the sharp edge of my axe.

"Whoa!" Hiccup started, finally seeing me in the orange light the setting sun cast off. And of course, he panicked. "What th- how? H-How are you, uh, Astrid.."

"I wanna know what's going on," I got straight to the point, cutting off his sentence. I hopped down from the rock and started towards him, twirling my axe threateningly as I went. I was _not _fooling around. "No one just _gets _as good as you do. Especially you! So.."

Hiccup backed up as I approached, obviously worried that he'd been caught red-handed. "Um.."

When it appeared he wasn't going to go out and say it, I urged him on. "Are you training with someone?" I asked him coldly.

"T-Training? Well I.." He was making excuses, trying to wiggle out of it. Not on my watch.

I grabbed the leather straps criss-crossing across his chest, and thrust him aside, "It better not have anything to do with this."

"Yes, this looks bad, but you see.."

_Snap_.

Hiccup let out a small gasp, and I swung my head around. It had gotten quiet all of a sudden, minus the chirping of a few sparrows above us. I looked around for the source of the noise. Noises like that didn't happen on their own, there was something here.

I started walking away from Hiccup, more interested in the unseen creature hiding from us. Hiccup, apparently, either pretended not to hear it or hadn't heard the sound at all. As he caught up to me, I could hear the desperation in his voice increasing.

"Oh, yes! You caught me! I've been making…outfits!" He came around from my side and moved in front of me, blocking my sight.

"Go ahead take me back, tell everyone what I've done.."

He had a small, nervous smile on his face as he kept deliberately blocking my vision, no matter where I moved. And that's when I noticed something. He had grabbed my hand. Sure, I don't mind it now, but the initial shock of him even attempting such a thing irritated me even more at that moment. So I did what any girl would do. I sharply grabbed his arm and twisted it back. Hard.

He gave a small cry and lost his balance, falling softly onto the cove's grass. "Oww! Why would you do that?"

It seemed he didn't really care I had just hurt him. His mind was on a different matter, I could tell. Suddenly, I felt all that rage from the final round of Dragon Training bubble up again. He was acting stupid, and indifferent! He didn't even care about the danger we might be in, say that hidden creature was a dragon! As all of these irritating things piled up, I found myself wanting revenge, bad. As Hiccup tried to get back up I forcefully shoved him back down with my foot. "That's for the lies! And _that's.._," I slammed the butt of my axe against his stomach, feeling a small sense of pleasure as the painful gasp he emitted, "..for everything else."

A growl came from in front of us, and this time, Hiccup heard it. "Oh no.."

A large black creature was in front of us. It's large toxic-green eyes zeroed in on both of our fragile forms. It gave a screech and ran towards us, pouncing across the cove like a large mountain lion. I immediately grabbed Hiccup-who had gotten off the ground- around the waist and threw him back down, along with myself. "Get down!" I screamed at him. Didn't he see the huge, lethal dragon rushing at us?

Forgetting the fact that Hiccup could take down a dragon with a single touch, I shot up and moved to swing my axe at the dragon's wing, which was coming within range in three….two.. I swung.

"NO ASTRID! DON'T!"

I felt myself being forcefully pushed back onto the soft ground, my weapon ripped from my hands and thrown aside in the chaos. Then Hiccup was there in front of me, holding out his hands towards the black dragon, who was still trying to get to us.

On the contrary, Hiccup was in its line of sight, but its hate-filled gaze still sat unmoving upon my fallen form.

It reared up on its rear legs, roaring and snarling at me as Hiccup spoke to it. I realized that I'd heard that roar before…thousands of times actually. Right before a large ball of blue fire took out one of our watch towers. I looked up at the obsidian dragon, stunned. Good gods…it was a…Night Fury!

"No! No, it's alright! It's ok! She's a friend." Hiccup shouted loudly, but gently at the Night Fury. The dragon immediately stilled upon hearing his words. It dropped back down onto all fours as it nuzzled its nose under Hiccup's elbow, making a sound between a growl and a croon at the same time.

Hiccup then turned towards me, the relief evident on his face as he spoke in a calm voice, "You just scared him."

Wait! He's accusing _me _now? I looked at the Night Fury who was still glaring at me intently with its slit pupils. If anything, this dragon was _not _scared. I scoffed in disbelief, my heart still racing from the sudden, almost, attack. "_I _scared _him_?" I froze for as second as said dragon snorted. "Who is 'him'?"

Hiccup turned all the way around to face me, and, in a sheepish voice, introduced us. "Uh, Astrid, meet Toothless. Toothless…Astrid."

The dragon, Toothless, hissed at me after Hiccup said my name. A hiss that clearly said '_Unless you want that pretty little head of your's ripped off, stay away, human!'_

I was at a total loss of words. Hiccup had not only named, but, judging from the brown pad on the Night Fury's neck (a saddle?), also tamed a dragon! It was…reckless! Not to mention crazy! No Viking in their right mind would get this close to a dragon unless it was about to kill it. Hiccup, in my mind, had apparently chosen which side he was on. I narrowed my eyes, and did the one thing I could do.

I ran.

Not hearing the next thing Hiccup said, if he said anything at all, I raced back up the cove's crevasse, running as fast as I could. I had to get back to Berk, Stoick needed to know about his son. About Hiccup's betrayal. To think, the most worthless Viking in Berk had sided with those horrid flying reptiles! You'd have to be insane to even try it! Which was what I had now labeled Hiccup as: insane!

Something else had occurred to me. Everything Hiccup had done in the arena was fake. He had basically cheated! He had a pet dragon for Odin's sake! Of course he'd be better at taking down the creatures since he spent every freaking afternoon playing around with one! The one though I had was that I had to get back and tell the elders, and then every single person in the whole village!

I was still running at a steady pace, my fur-lined boots thudded softly against the hard ground. A fallen tree blocked my path, but I easily jumped on top and leapt off of it. Or so I thought.

I felt something slightly warm and strong grab my arm as I leapt off the dead log. And before I could even comprehend what was going on, I was lifted up into the air, a hundred feet placed between me and the safe ground within seconds! I gave a terrified shout as I was lifted higher across the tall trees. I gasped and looked up to see the Night Fury dragging me across the treetops effortlessly. "Oh, Great Odin's Ghost!"

There was one thought that crossed my mind: _IamdeadIamdeadIamdeadIamDEAD!_

I screamed again as the thing brought me back the direction I came from, and I couldn't hold back the small yelp I released as it tossed me onto one of the topmost branches of a pine tree that hung above Hiccup's cove.

I scrambled across the thin limb, holding on for dear life as the dragon perched at the tip, causing the whole tree to lean sideways precariously. I noticed Hiccup sitting on the dragon's back and I glared at him. "Hiccup! Get me down from here!"

He held up his hands in defense, "At least give me a chance to explain."

"I'm not listening to _anything _you have to say!" I snapped back at the russet-haired boy.

"Then I wont speak. Just let me show you," he leaned towards me, holding a hand out to help me. His gaze found mine easily, his eyes were pleading with me. "Please, Astrid."

I could read him easily, his intentions showing clearly across his face. There was no way he was going to let me down anytime soon. He was willing to stay up here on his stupid dragon until I gave up and listened to him. That is, unless I felt like falling a hundred feet into the lake I hung over, which would hurt.

I sighed, defeated, and hauled the rest of my body onto the branch. I balanced easily and moved towards the Night Fury Hiccup was perched upon. I wasn't one to show weakness, or accept help of any kind. What can I say? It was the way of any strong Viking. My pride caused me to harshly knock away Hiccup's outstretched hand, and I blocked out the obsidian dragon's protesting growls. I helped myself onto the soft saddle, and, reluctantly, sat down on the dragon's back behind Hiccup.

Weary, I glanced longingly down at the forest floor. "Now let me down."

Hiccup nodded fervently, obviously pleased that I chosen to listen. He leaned forward towards the Night Fury's face and patted its neck softly. "Toothless, down. Gently."

The dragon unfolded its leathery wings, easily catching a passing breeze that lifted the weight off the pine tree slightly. Hiccup looked back at me with a reassuring smile. "See, nothing to be afraid of.."

That's when the dragon took off.

I had once jumped off of one of Berk's many steep cliffs and into a deep lake when I was little. I remember my stomach jumping up to my throat and a sense of fear that didn't leave until five minutes after I got out of the water. Being thrown into an extreme vertical incline that reached up to thousands of feet in the air, and in a matter of seconds by an irritated dragon made my little high-dive seem like a walk through the woods on a summer day.

I had never screamed so loudly in my life! I had placed my hands against the dragon's black hide to keep myself from slipping off and falling to my death. Hiccup obviously hadn't expected his 'pet' to do this either because had also shouted in surprise and was trying to get the dragon level again.

In my fear I had reached forwards and wrapped my arms around the only thing I knew would keep me on this monstrosity. I took hold of Hiccup in my arms tightly, one around his neck and one around his waist. I even wrapped one of my legs around his body in a desperate attempt to anchor myself to the dragon. I clung tightly, not caring if I was choking him accidentally. I vaguely heard him say something, whether to me or to his demon I couldn't tell, but I didn't pay attention to his words. All I was thinking about was how to stop myself from falling and hitting the ground of Berk with a hard _splat_.

We finally straightened somewhat and feeling slightly safer, I loosened my grip on the chief's son. Hiccup's shoulders sagged slightly, losing some of the tension for a second. He gave a nervous laugh, "He's not usually like this," that's when the dragon's wings closed, folding tightly against its sleek body. We started to tilt sideways, "Oh no.."

The flight quickly transformed into a free-fall. We twisted and flipped and turned in the air as the Night Fury decided to do some serious aerial acrobatics. It pulled up right before we hit the freezing water that surrounded the island of Berk, and decided to splash around in the water a few times, getting the both of us wet along the way.

I heard Hiccup's shout as it flew back against the wind, "Toothless, what are you doing? We need her to like us!" Pft, yeah fat chance you horrid lizard! You and your stupid rider can pretty much…..

The Night Fury shot up again, twirling around in a barrel roll, which sent me into another screaming episode. Hiccup muttered exasperatedly, "And now he's spinning…"

Yeah, thank you Captain Obvious.

Hiccup, his annoyance having turned into anger, shouted, "Thank you for nothing, you useless reptile!"

The dragon spun, faster and faster and faster. Until I could barely tell the sky apart from the sea. I was getting dizzy and started to feel a sense of nausea come up. The adrenaline running through me made my heart pound and I was so stiff from holding on to Hiccup that I thought I wouldn't be able to let go afterwards. The fear veiling my mind cut out all sense of pride and sternness that I would put up as my mask on the battle field. I just wanted this torturous ride to end. Closed my eyes as bile arose in my throat a little as we went into another spin, and I leaned my head against the back of the chieftain's son and shouted, "Alright! I'm sorry! I am sorry! Just get me off of this thing."

Just like that, as if someone had flipped a switch, the dragon calmed. He floated along a wind current, steady and careful, as if he was a longboat carrying a glass sculpture across a rough sea. I dared to open my eyes, squinting as the setting sun cast it's last rays across my face. But what a sight. The sky was dipped in various shades of pink, orange, and purple. The large cloud in front of us absorbing the colors and twirling them into its frothy form. The dragon banked smoothly, as if it were born to rule the skies. And, in a way, it was.

I sat up slowly, moving my hands to Hiccup's shoulders as I looked at the sky with awe. The russet-haired boy didn't speak as he lifted his arm so I could pull my leg out of his lap and to the dragon's side again. I felt him relax under my hold, and dimly noticed that he seemed to sit straighter, in a more confident, yet lenient, way. There was no sound except for the wind rushing past my ears and the distinct soft click that came from Hiccup's left stirrup.

The dragon took us up, his form parallel with the large cloud. Perplexed with the giant formation, I lifted a hand to touch it. No one had ever known what clouds were made of. They were always just kind of…there, drifting away lazily across the sapphire sky day after day. Curiously, I ran my hand against the fluffy buildup, expecting it to feel soft like a rabbit's fur or delicate like a bird's feathers. I flinched as little as I felt cool moisture run down my extended arm as droplets of water collected on my fingers. I almost laughed at the strange experience. _Water floating in the sky. Who would've though?_

I smiled and ran my other hand along the cloud, leaning back to catch every ounce of it as Toothless took us higher. We flew a little ways away from the large floating mountain and went into a loop. This one was slower, not as rushed or jerky as the ones Toothless performed before, but just fast enough to where Hiccup and I didn't slide off. The dragon took us up, through a layer of water vapor until we came above the cloud line. The sunshine was shut out, which left the vast starry sky to cover us in out flight. The air felt cool and crisp as it caressed my cheeks, making them tinge pink. As if on cue, the sky suddenly filled with dancing lights composed of just about every color. The Northern Lights swirled and chased us in a playful fashion, following our every turn and drop.

After a few minutes, the lights faded into the night's sky again, the colorful array being whisked away by the wind.

Still smiling, I took a glance down to see that the clouds had also faded away to reveal something else. Berk, lit only by the fires in the homes and guard towers, sparkled softly along the horizon. I gasped softly, put my hands back on Hiccup's shoulders and leaned forward a little to get a closer look. It was our home! Our village! I almost giggled at the sight of seeing my house from the sky as we flew along the coast.

Toothless looked back at us, and caught my gaze. He seemed to grin softly as if to say '_See? It's not that bad. And I'm not a killer.'_

I blinked at the magnificent, obsidian dragon. How could we have killed these creatures for hundreds of years without discovering this? How was it possible that not one Viking thought to ride a dragon instead of destroy one? I stole a glance at Hiccup. He had a large smile on his face, his forest-green eyes sparkled with happiness and exuberance. I'd never seen the boy this happy before, not truthfully at least. Sure he put on a smile and used his dry humor every now and again, but this, this was real. He wasn't pretending or hiding how he truly felt. This was his true contentment and serenity shining through. Feeling a warm, indefinable emotion twirl around in my chest, I found myself wanting to be close to him. I wanted to keep that vividness on his face. Slowly, but surely, I wrapped my arms around his waist again, my chin settling on his shoulder. He had discovered this. He must've been telling the truth that night he said he hit a Night Fury, otherwise I wouldn't be riding on one. Hiccup could've killed Toothless, and, well, become accepted. He wouldn't have been looked down at with disgust or shame anymore. He had caught a Night Fury, but instead of taking the 'Viking way' and killing the giant lizard, he let it go. He befriended it.

I sighed against the warmth his body gave off, and hugged him closer to me. I smiled in content and closed my eyes for a few seconds, relishing this moment. Maybe…there was more to Hiccup than it seemed.

" I've got to admit," Hiccup and Toothless looked back at me when I spoke, "This is pretty cool. It's…amazing."

I looked at Toothless and smiled softly, "_He's _amazing."

I placed my hand on Toothless' neck, patting the smooth scales gently. Looking at both Hiccup's and Toothless' relieved smiles, I couldn't help but feel a warmth spread throughout my body. Yes, they both were just that. Amazing.

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**It's actually really really fun to write in her POV! And i felt extremely happy with this chapter as far as the wording goes! My writer's block seems to have given up now that school is almost over :-)**

**Hopefully i got all the dialogue right...I'm sorta going off of memory so, yeah. But i think i got most of it! :-D**

**So you guys know the drill! Tell me what yall think! Just click that little green button. Yep, that one right down there! :-P**

**Hope you liked! ~Oliver**


	2. Out of the Fog and Into the Nest

**Phew! I'm so glad i got this done in time! I was afraid i wouldn't be able to get it up before i left for my summer vacation :-P Ok, so this chapter will have some other scenes added in because of the lapses in the movie (did you really expect Toothless to get from the Nest back to the cove in a millisecond? Nope ^_^) Anywho, i added in some of my own stuff to fill in the time lapse, so don't freak if it's not exactly the same as the movie :) So, now that that's over, enjoy!**

**Oh, and thanks a ton to my friend WhiteFangLover who edits my chapters before posting ^_^ (and i sincerely apologize! I had _no _idea I'd put up the unedited versions of both chapters until a few days ago!)**

**Disclaimer: I'm not cool enough to own How to Train Your Dragon...yet *evil smile*

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**2. Out of the Fog and Into the Nest**

"So what now?" my voice was quiet against the soft breeze that caressed my skin. I felt Hiccup's shoulders slump under my grasp, and he let out a long sigh before looking down. His content disposition shattered like a thin slate of ice hit by a stone hammer, and a frown marred his face where his smile had just been. It was evident that he did _not _want to go in that arena tomorrow.

"Hiccup, your final exam is tomorrow! You know you're gonna have to kill a-" I paused, not wanting Toothless to hear my next words. I put my hand on Hiccup's shoulder and pulled him closer so I could whisper in his ear. "-kill a dragon."

"Oh don't remind me.." Hiccup's despairing voice was cut off as Toothless suddenly banked sharply, causing me to grab for Hiccup again as we turned into a large patch of fog. I had not forgotten his dragon's insane maneuvers from when we had first taken off, so I didn't intend on taking any chances.

"Toothless what's happening?"

Toothless' ears were twitching frantically, his head jerking in different directions before wrenching us left or right, but past the dragon's snout I couldn't make out a single thing, the fog obscuring my vision. Wherever force was calling him, it was thoroughly hidden from both Hiccup's and my own sight.

Toothless was frantically flying faster into the thick mist, his head swiveling around as he made a sort of clicking sound from deep in his throat. Hiccup flinched slightly at the sudden jerking movements and tried to get an idea of what was happening, "Whoa, what is it?" he spoke calmly to Toothless, leaning forward so the dragon could hear him clearly.

Then, out of nowhere, a large Monstrous Nightmare zoomed past us to our right. Hiccup gasped, "Get down!" even if he didn't franticly whisper that command to me I would've still done it, I still would've crouched low to Toothless until I was leaning against Hiccup's back all the same. Toothless swerved to avoid making contact with the larger dragon's wings, but was sent right back to where he was before when a Nadder roared in the mist, close enough for me to touch if I wanted. More and more dragons appeared out of the blue…err, white. I tensed every time I caught a glimpse of another dragon. Hiccup was stiff under me, minus the precise movement of his left foot, and was looking from the other dragons, to Toothless, and back, trying to make sense of what was going on. The other dragons' overlapping roars, growls, and flapping of their wings was deafening, and the air around us grew slightly warmer from the excessive amount of body heat .

"What's going on?" there was a subtle shake in my voice, but I wasn't worried about that at the moment. I wanted to at the least get out of this alive, and the only one who could convince the Night Fury to turn around was as clueless as I was.

"I don't know. Toothless, you gotta get us out of her Bud." he had placed his hand near the dragon's head, trying to get Toothless to register his words, but the dragon merely forcibly shook his hand off with a snort.

Another Nightmare came uncomfortably close to us, and as I looked down at its claws I saw…a sheep? Hiccup saw it to, in fact, all the dragons had some type of poor creature in their grasp. "It looks like they're hauling in their kill."

I froze, "Uh, what does that make us?" Toothless didn't have any food with him. But he was carrying Hiccup and me, and I couldn't help but wonder if this dragon was only playing nice so he could be full later on. _No Astrid! What are you thinking? Toothless wouldn't do that! _I scolded myself. I wanted to believe that Toothless was friendly, that he wasn't going to hurt us. But a small part of me reminded myself what dragons have done to the tribe all these years, and that small part of me kept saying that this could all be a trap.

I could feel the eyes of some other dragons on us as the Night Fury flew amongst them, but they made no move to attack us…yet.

All the dragons, including Toothless, suddenly dived towards the water, causing me and Hiccup to give a short scream of surprise. Toothless pulled up just before hitting the choppy water, zooming this way and that to avoid the almost invisible stone columns jutting out of the ocean. I didn't utter anything as we continued to fly, but I did let out a slight gasp as we came upon a huge mountain that glowed red in the darkness. Hiccup tilted his head to look at the top, which was smoking slightly, his hardened gaze didn't have any trace of fear on it. He was anxious maybe and a little curious, but he wasn't afraid of what was going to happen. For me, on the other hand, this was the one time I would admit that I was kind of scared. We had no idea where we were headed, not to mention the fact that we were surrounded by hundreds of dragons who were just flying aimlessly around with their supper. My hands switched from gripping this sides of Hiccup's torso, to involuntarily encircling him altogether tightly. I scooted up along the saddle to stay as close to him as possible. If anyone was going to get us out of here alive, I guess it would be him. I had to trust him, no, both of them, to get me away from whatever this was safely.

A large fissure in the mountain came into view and Toothless soared into it. Hiccup and I both gave a soft cry that echoed in the dark enclosed entrance into the mountain. As we entered, the air turned from chilly to exceedingly hot, and the darkness of the night switched to a dull, red glow. Everywhere I looked there were dragons. In the cracks, along the walls, resting on shelves in the rock, there was thousands of them. _This is it_, my mind relayed to me. I had no idea how I knew, but it was pretty much evident. That fog we raced through had to have been Helheim's Gate, which meant that this huge rock was the Nest.

"What my dad wouldn't give to find this." the awe in Hiccup's voice told me he was thinking the exact same thing. And, truthfully, I don't think there was anything Stoick the Vast wouldn't give to reach this rocky island.

Toothless veered to the left, leading us away from the line of incoming dragons, and landed silently on an overhanging rock shelf. He partially hid Hiccup and me behind one of the molded rocks that morphed into the wall a few feet above our heads. I couldn't help but give a little sigh in relief. Toothless was hiding us, he was on our side. I mentally gave myself a beating for ever doubting the obsidian reptile in the first place, but quickly decided to think about my loyalties later. We, the only humans in this monument, watched as every single dragon released its catch down into the smoky read depth that made up the center of the hollow mountain.

"Well, it's satisfying to know that all of our food has been dumped down a hole." Hiccup's sarcastic remark reached my ears. I looked up and all around the cave, but not a single dragon had any other food with them. They just flew in, dropped their food, and found a comfortable spot to rest on. That was all they did. "They're not eating any of it."

Our attention was suddenly pulled away as a slow, staggering Gronkle flew in. It flew above the hole, or tried to, and promptly barfed up a single, small fish. Seeming pleased with itself, the bulbous dragon scratched itself behind the ear before floating away. However, there was a deep growl, and suddenly the whole cave was silenced. The sudden silence made my ears ring for a second before the largest dragon I'd ever seen leapt from the unclear fog around the middle of the mountain, and mercilessly swallowed the Gronkle whole, causing Hiccup to gasp loudly and me to freeze, both of us stunned beyond belief, our breath caught in out throats at the sight of the greenish-grey monstrosity.

_Oh gods…_

"What...is that?" my petrified whisper hung in the air as the huge creature sunk back down into the red smoke. At first, I thought everything was going to go back to how it was a few seconds ago, but the creature stopped and gave a low snarl, and suddenly I could feel its eyes on us.

"Alright Bud, we gotta get out of here." Hiccup said to Toothless.

The large dragon's nostrils twitched, and it's head jerked in our direction. It found us. "Now!" Hiccup all but screamed as the thing lunged for us. I caught a glimpse of large fangs, longer than my body, come at us before Toothless swiftly pulled away. He flew us into a frenzy of dragons trying to escape the dominating monster's wrath. Toothless shot out of the opening at the top of the mountain so fast that I almost lost my hold on Hiccup.

We flew straight through the sky then, both Hiccup and I were breathing hard. I felt jittery from the leftover adrenaline, but couldn't make my arms move away from around the young man in front of me. After a few minutes of silence, Hiccup spoke up.

"Hey! Astrid, are you alright? You didn't get hurt or scared or anything, did you?" I sent a glare at the back of his head. Did he just ask me if I was _scared_? Seriously, this boy needed to get some common sense. I mean he trained a dragon for Odin's sake!

So what did I do? I thumped the back of his head. Just enough to jar him a little.

"OW!" He clutched his head and shot a disapproving look behind me. I heard Toothless give a soft, defiant roar at the pain-provoked outburst that came from his rider. The dragon looked back and sent a slit-eyed glare my way. "Oh relax, you inflated lizard. I didn't hurt him," I calmly said. The dragon rolled his eyes, obviously peeved.

"Geeze, I take her on a flight around the island and all she does is _hit _me!" Hiccup muttered as he rubbed the back of his head. Toothless snorted and shook his head, as if he was agreeing that I was absurd.

"What was that for anyways?" the boy in front of me twisted around in his seat and sent me a accusing look.

"_That _was for asking me if I was scared. You should've already known my answer to a stupid question like that."

"Well, forgive me for being concerned!" he sot back dryly at first, but then, as he turned forward again, his voice was grave. "You can't really blame me. I mean, did you see that thing? It ate another dragon, Astrid!"

I crossed my arms, purposely releasing him from my hold, "Of course I saw it Hiccup, how could I not? What was it anyway? I never saw anything like that in the Manual."

"No, no that thing is _defiantly _not in the Manuel, that's for sure. But what I don't get is why they're giving it all that food. I mean, Toothless is happy with only a basket of fish every day, and even if that dragon is thathuge, it shouldn't eat that much. It just doesn't add up…" He glanced down at the ground and ,seeing how close to the cove we were, shifted his left foot. Toothless willingly obliged to the silent command and dove down.

"No, no it makes total sense. It's like a giant beehive. They're the workers and that's their queen! It controls them. Lets find your dad!" I easily slid off of Toothless and started running in the general direction Berk was in, but Hiccup had followed me off his dragon and ran in front of me, taking hold of my arm slightly to get me to stop. "No! Not yet. T-they'll kill Toothless, no. Astrid, we have to think this through, carefully."

Hiccup turned away from me, his brain already working on finding an answer to our predicament. Was he serious? How could we afford not to tell Stoick? This was big-no, huge! If that huge dragon is killed, then the others wouldn't raid us anymore! We could live in peace, without worrying about finding enough food for the winter or rebuilding houses every few days! And he wouldn't let that happen because of some handicapped Night Fury? Wasn't this more important than a single dragon?

I stole a glance at Toothless, who was at the lakeside drinking his fill from such a long and tiresome flight, and then turned back towards Hiccup again. "Hiccup, we just discovered the Dragon's Nest! The thing we've been after since Vikings first sailed here! And you want to keep it a secret?" I scoffed at the idea, "To protect your _pet _dragon? Are you serious?"

What he did next stopped me dead in my tracks, and also stunned me to a point where my heart froze and I was unable to form the simplest of words.

He turned towards me slowly, and my heart struck a cord as I stared at the most serious face I'd ever seen him make. A quiet but firm "Yes" left him and I broke.

All my arguments faded away into nothing as his listless, sage-green eyes locked onto mine. His sharp gaze caused my hardened resolve cracked just enough to for his hidden plea to penetrate into my soul and clutch my heart. He wasn't going to change his mind, his expression told me that at the least. It hurt me to see him like this. Hurt me so much that I wanted to take my axe and slice the creature causing him this torment. And if I could've taken the Queen down right then and there so see him be himself again…I would've done so without a second thought. I realized that I couldn't ask him to make this decision. Not me. I didn't want to be the one that brought this burden on him.

"Ok," I simply said to his answer. However, I wasn't just going to leave it at that. We couldn't just do nothing, we needed a plan. "Then what are we going to do?"

He gave me a tired sigh, but also an answer, "Just…give me until tomorrow. I'll figure something out."

Already, I could see all the brilliant plans flying across his mind. He was Berk's own prodigy, even if nobody else knew it. I could see it in his eyes that this was _his _problem. At least, that's what he thought. He felt like it was his duty to stop this, to rid these beautiful reptiles of their tyrant. And to think, I wouldn't have figured any of this out if I hadn't followed him those few hours ago (was it really that small amount of time?). Which reminded me….he made me miss my curfew. My mother was going to be ticked off, and basically it was his fault. He needed his punishment thank you very much!

I shot a swift punch to this upper arm, "That's for kidnapping me."

Hiccup gave me a perplexed expression, like he couldn't believe I'd actually had hit him _again_. He turned towards Toothless, and gave a shrug and gestured towards me. Toothless merely jerked his head and gave a snort. '_Why are you looking at me? She's your problem now_!' his gesture clearly told Hiccup.

Hiccup's gaze turned back to me as he rubbed his arm. I felt relieved when I saw the old Hiccup back. His serious, hurt aura having disappeared with my punch. His eyes, while not sparkling like they had when we were flying, had more light in them now that their hard edge was gone. I suddenly felt the urge to thank him…and I couldn't stop myself in time to prevent my instinctual action. I grabbed his harness and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. His skin felt smooth and warm, but I didn't have time to assess much else because the small peck ended as quick as it began. I pulled away to see Hiccup looking at me even more dumbfounded and confused than he had already been.

"That's for…" for what? For the flight? For scaring me half to death and making me ride a crazed Night Fury? For sharing his secrets with me? For opening my eyes and revealing the truth? For letting his guard down to show me his true self? The list went on and on, but no one thing seemed to fit the meaning that small kiss held. But then again, why give him one reason when I could give him all?

"...everything else," I finished, trying not to break into a smile at his dazed expression.

With nothing else to say, and the looming threat of a huge lecture my mom was going to give to me if I was any later, I turned back towards the cove's entrance and ran towards home.

Of course, I couldn't help but sneak a peak back at the boy and his dragon when I was at the top of the crevasse, when I was hidden from their view. Hiccup still had that far off expression on his face and I could barely make out the small smirk that graced his lips as Toothless came up beside him. The dragon warbled and gave the chieftain's son a knowing look, his own dragon-like smirk along his snout. Hiccup finally caught the dragon staring at him amusedly.

"Are you-wha…what are you looking at?" Hiccup stumbled across his words, embarrassed at being caught staring into space. I couldn't stop the giggle that escaped me at his stuttered shout, and then at his dragon's seemingly innocent face.

Hiccup walked around towards the side of Toothless, and started undoing the saddle's straps, grumbling the whole time.

I just sat there watching the both of them, until Toothless suddenly sniffed the air and turned his head towards me. I froze, thinking he'd tell Hiccup, which would be embarrassing, but all the dragon did was smile. It wasn't that smirk I saw him give Hiccup, no this was a real smile. His lips pulled back slightly, and he gave me a gummy smile, his teeth….retracted? I felt myself blush slightly at being found out, and sent a small glare at the Night Fury.

Toothless rolled his toxic green eyes, content with just shaking a little after Hiccup lifted the saddle off of his back.

As I got up to leave one thought crossed my mind_. Well, at least now I know why he's called Toothless…_

I was about two miles away from home. And I had made the mistake of letting my mind wander.

As I jogged back home, I kicked a stray pebble along the ground I trudged along. I had been thinking about Toothless, and all the other dragons. What they didn't have in size, they made up for in numbers. So why didn't they just kill the Queen together? Were they all too afraid to attack the creature? Possibly, but maybe they just needed someone to help them along the way.

I'd also been thinking about the Queen herself (if it is a her). - Most importantly, I had been thinking about Hiccup. I thought back to why I didn't try to convince him to tell his dad. Why did I give in so easily? Nothing has ever caused me to back away from an issue so quickly. I usually stood my ground on things like that!

How could he do that? Just give in? We had to speak to the adults! They'd help stop this whole thing! Couldn't Hiccup see that? Couldn't he imagine the consequences of keeping this big of a secret? What if that dragon got loose? Or worse…what if it came to Berk? If that thing found our village, it's ferocity, combined with the Viking's stubbornness issues, would surely bring the destruction of our entire village! And there's no telling how many people would survive such a battle. I don't want that much guilt dumped upon me should it happen, and I'm pretty sure Hiccup would feel the same way. That's why we had to tell the other! At least Stoic! But Hiccup had said no. he didn't want to warn the village because…because he didn't want Toothless in a cage! I liked Toothless, I really did! That flight had shown me so much, taught me so many things about these misunderstood creatures, that I wanted to help them get rid of their Queen too! But Toothless is still a dragon. It's not a human and Hiccup still thought of the Night Fury as if it were one. Toothess' freedom would only be a small price to pay to keep the village and all the other dragons safe! I mean, it's not like he was going to be giving up his best friend…..

My steady run slowed until I came to a complete stop. I was only a mile away from Berk. And I could make out the shinning orange glows from the fires that we'd seen just a while ago during my first flight, but I didn't make any more moves to head back home.

I mentally beat myself up. How could I have been so ignorant? That's exactly what it would be if Hiccup turned Toothless in. He'd be betraying his best friend. The thought itself hurt like someone had banged my heart with a mallet, and I felt the soft, throbbing feeling of guilt fill the rest of my body.

For all these years, nobody had given a second glance towards Hiccup unless it was to keep him from screwing up. At least before he became good at defeating dragons. But before that, he was hated, ignored, thrown aside like a sword that could no longer be sharpened. Toothless….was the only friend Hiccup had ever had. The most feared dragon in the skies…was the only one who had ever accepted him.

I wrapped my arms around the front of me, not because of the night's freezing wind, but out of sorrow for the russet-haired boy I left back in the forest_. I'm sorry Hiccup_ I silently cried out to him. And, for the first time in years, I felt a single drop of wetness slide down the side of my face. Hiccup might have seen fine everyday, as if he didn't care about what people said about him, but tonight I knew better. He had shown his true colors tonight. He'd unfolded them and held them out for me to see, but I was the exception. He'd never display what he was really feeling towards the people of Berk.

Under all those sarcastic sayings and dry humor, he was hurting. He always had been. Nevertheless, even throughout all the verbal abuse, never had he hurt one of us. He never shouted, or got angry, or fought back. He just concealed the damage with a practiced hand and walked away. He was too good a person, and if it took my life, I'd see to it that his kindness was uncontaminated by the pride and discrimination of others. _I'll protect him. _I silently promised. _No matter what._

A cold wind blew around me, snapping me back to reality. It was really, really late, the moon was right above Berk, showing that the night was halfway over. I sighed and started walking back towards my house. I was going to have to face my mother's anger sometime. The last mile flew by quickly as I ran back home. I slowed to a brisk walk once I was inside the village borders, I waved to a few of the night sentries before finally reaching my house. I took a deep breath, if there was anytime to be silent, it would be now. I opened the wooden door slowly, thanking all the gods that the hinges didn't creak as I made my way inside. I tiptoed across the stone floor, hoping to get to my room unnoticed by any other…

"ASTRID HOFFERSON!" a loud, shrill shout came from the kitchen. Great.

I froze on the spot, knowing better than to run away from my mom. If there's one thing I'd learned in my life was that if you run from Eydis the Willful, it will end very, very badly.

I stood straight as my mom came into the room. She was a good two and a half feet taller than me, her blond hair was pulled in a braid like mine, but whereas my hair reached my shoulder blades, hers went down to her knees. Anger flared in her hazel eyes and she looked down on me.

"Do ya know how late it is? Where on Earth have you been?" she shouted so loudly I thought the neighbors would burst in asking if there was a dragon attacking…it has happened before after all.

"Uh..I- I was with…." I scrambled for an answer so it wouldn't look like I was lying. Then I immediately shouted the first name the popped into my mind without thinking, "..Hiccup!"

The instant I said it I regretted it. Mom looked at me with her eyebrows raised, the anger gone from her face and replaced with surprise. Why for Thor's sake did I say _his _name? Of all the people on Berk, I had to say I was with _Hiccup_? It would've been simpler if I had said I was with Ruffnutt! At least it wouldn't sound like we were…..

I swallowed the lump in my throat. That's probably exactly what it sounded like. It'd be a common misinterpretation. Hiccup's a boy, and I'm a girl, and it wouldn't be surprising is we snuck of into the night for romance. But that's not what I wanted Mom to think!

"We were training!" I said a little too quickly to make it convincing.

"Training? In the dead of night?" Mom was quick, but I had to be quicker.

"Yeah, I mean…his final exam in Dragon Training is tomorrow. And he asked me to help him." _Please believe it _I pleaded in my head that she wouldn't see through the lies. Hiccup asked me to keep Toothless a secret, so I would.

"Well don't you usually train with your axe? Where is it?" Crap! It was still in the cove, right where Hiccup had flung it to keep me from hurting Toothless.

"Oh! Oh gods, I left it in the woods! I'll go get it-" I made to turn back around and run out the door, but my mother caught my hand before I had taken three steps.

"Relax Astrid, it can wait. Its not like it's going to get up and run away. Ye can go an' get it in the morning, before the final fight at the Arena tomorrow."

I nodded and sighed. I was tired, the whole night took a lot of energy out of me and the only thing really I wanted to do was to get past Mom and sleep. She must have mistook my sigh as a sign of depression instead of exhaustion, because she turned me to face her and spoke softly, "Listen Astrid. I know you're upset about coming in second in training. But it's alright, nobody here thinks any less of ye. Ya don't have to go around hitting people who are better than you."

I was at a loss of words. Yes, I had intentionally gone after Hiccup to get revenge for beating me, but I never knew that my mother knew me that well. She actually thought I went with Hiccup so I could vent my anger out on him. Well, at least it wasn't the alternative.

I put up the strong front that I used when in battle and crossed my arms, "He may have a bruise or two. But I had to make him understand that just because he's the best doesn't mean he's….the best."

My mother nodded, and smiled "That's fine Astrid, in fact I'm proud of ye. It's good to remind others that they're not as strong as they think they are. I'm just glad ya didn't hurt the lad too badly, or else I'd have to face an angry Chief tomorrow."

I smiled softly at her, "Thanks Mom."

She nodded at me, and then, seeming to believe my story, pointed towards the staircase that led to my bedroom. "Get some sleep Astrid. Ya look dead on your feet."

I didn't object in the least, and ran upstairs quickly. Once I was in my room and had closed my door, I let out a long breath that I didn't know I'd been holding. That actually went better than I thought it would. Toothless is still safely hidden and my mother didn't think me and Hiccup were 'romantically' involved. All's well that ends well I guess. I quickly changed into my night clothes and laid down on my soft bed, sleep tugging at me to leave this world until tomorrow.

Tomorrow…..

My breath caught in my throat and I felt my heart skip a beat. Tomorrow, Hiccup was going to have to kill a dragon. He said he would figure a way out of it, but I couldn't shake the thought that something bad was going to happen. If Hiccup wasn't going to kill anything, then wouldn't that make him the prey instead?

As I drifted off to sleep, I couldn't ignore the sense of dread that came over me when I imagined Hiccup alone in the arena with that Nightmare.

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**OMG! What will happen next? Most of you probably already know...but lets pretend we don't ;-)**

**Oh and my mistake! I give a big thank you to _Size XS_ for making me realize this. Ladies and Gentleman, the review button is NOT green...it is blue. So go press the blue button that says 'Review this Chapter'! You guys blew me away with all the alerts and faves and everything (Seriously! My self esteem skyrocketed the morning after i posted this story!)...but lots of reviews make me even happier, and also make me write faster! And (this is supposed to be a secret) i may (keyword 'may') continue this story to the end of the movie. But only if you guys want me to...so review and let me know!**

**Hope you like! Peace out!**

**~Oliver**


	3. Nightmares

**Ok, three things i need to take care of before we get to the story:**

**Number 1: Apologies- I am sooooo sooo sorry for the long update! But i have a good explination! I took a 2 week long trip to Greece, Italy, and Spain (To all you Europeans out there...your countries are beautifully breathtaking, i do not understand how you live without ice cubes in your drinks, and your driving i proudly describe as orderly chaos :) just thought i'd let you know), so after i get home i rest for a week and then we get a new puppy! So she's been taking up a lot of my time too. Also, i apologize for the countless mistakes in the previous chapters! I just realized a week ago that i accidentally posted the unedited versions of the chapters, but they are fixed now :) so you can read without thinking i cant spell! :-P**

**Numero 2: Ive just discovered something groundbreaking...Dreamworks is making a How To Train Your Dragon sequel! XD Bad news is it comes out in three years... **

**And number 3: Lastly, Sorcerer's Apprentice comes to theaters tomorrow...and since Jay Baruchel (Hiccup) plays the main guy, everyone should go see it! XD jk, you dont have to see it, but i think it's gonna be awesome :)**

**Great, now that that's cleared up...on with the story!**

**Disclaimer: _(__sarcasm_) Oh yeah, I own HTTYD...and Harry Potter comes over to wash my pet griffin during Christmas break with Mickey Mouse every year :-/**

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3. Nightmares

The trail back to the cove had been branded into my mind forever, even if I had only walked it twice. It took me no more than half an hour to find my way to the partially hidden crevasse that led into the hidden indenture that nature placed in the forest. It seemed natural to go there, as if I have traveled there my whole life.

I had rushed out of the house right after I opened my eyes. I ran through the kitchen on my way out, grabbing a slice of bread and cheese from the counter to eat on the way. Of course my mom had asked me questions about where I was going, half-hearted as they were. I didn't lie; really, I mean I _was _going back to get my axe….I just wasn't going to go hunting for worms afterwards (What? We need bait when we fish, don't we?).

So, after a half hour of trekking through the dense undergrowth of Berk, all the while frantically looking behind my shoulders to see if anyone had dared to follow me, I finally entered the cove to find….nothing.

Aside from the grass, trees, rocks, and other stationary objects occupying the crater, there was nothing there at all. I slid down the entryway slowly, looking around for Toothless at the least. I didn't check to see if Hiccup had left his house before I set off myself. It was possible that Hiccup was still sleeping back at the village, but I wanted to make sure he wasn't here before I went back.

"Toothless?" my voice was no higher than normal as I called out to the unseen dragon. As I strolled idly along the bank of the small lake, and I started to wonder if the Night Fury would even remember me. Considering all of the unforgettable events that happened last night, surely he would, but this sort of thing had never happened to a Viking before. Sure they were smart animals, anybody could tell that after spending some time around them, but could they remember and identify a single being after just one day of knowing them? Towards Hiccup, Toothless was like an overgrown dog. Sweet and lovable if he knew you, but dangerous and overprotective if he considered you a threat to his partner. "Hiccup? Toothless!" I prayed to Thor that the dragon would remember me.

In the meantime, I walked around to the far side of the crater, grabbed my fallen axe, which hadn't moved an inch sine Hiccup tossed it to the side, and placed it the holster on my skirt. Still, nothing stirred in the hidden rock cavity; I sighed out of frustration and sat myself down near dumped over wicker basket and-wait!

I did a double take before I realized that it was the same basket Hiccup had carried over here yesterday. I crawled over to it, and took a peek inside; however, all that was in there was half a fish. _Must've been Toothless' __breakfast_ I concluded. Still, I smiled at the sight of something familiar; so Hiccup was here after all, or _had _been here; the boy was nowhere in the cove. And neither was Toothless for that matter. Truth be told, there was really only one other place they could be.

I sighed, and decided to wait, certain that they were going to take their time. Bored, I leaned back until I was lying down in the soft grass. I looked at the clear sky above me, the fresh sun rays streamed down, and my eyes scanned the horizon for a big black shadow zooming its way over Berk.

That was a mistake. I had been blocking out my thoughts since that morning, keeping myself from thinking things that I didn't want to contemplate. Now that I had nothing to catch my attention, I couldn't ignore the gut-wrenching feeling that had been tormenting me all morning.

Is it enough to say that I was worried? That dread I felt before falling asleep the night before had not left me, but actually got worse as the sun rose. It was like a snake inside of me, twisting and biting at my stomach and heart to where I felt like I was going to crumple into nothing. But I shouldn't have been anxious, right? Hiccup was the best dragon killer out of all of us; he could take that Monstrous Nightmare down easily! _But he didn't actually kill any of those other dragons, now did he?_ I flinched at my own rebuttal, and, in response, hissed at the voice in my head to shut up while I shoved the thought out of my conscience.

And what about this plan he said he'd have? How could he keep the Queen a secret, kill a peaceful(ish) dragon, _and _keep Toothless safe all at once? I involuntarily remembered his words from yesterday after the match against me, calling out to his best friend that they were leaving. I felt a sinking feeling at remembering that. Would he leave now? It would be an effective idea, even I would admit that, but would he just get up and fly away if it came down to it? Is that what he was doing now? Did he just leave?

I shook the thought from my head. "No," I whispered the answer to my own question. There were too many reasons for him to stay. He felt responsible for Toothless and, therefore, for all the other dragons near Berk. He wouldn't just abandon them and put their fates in the hands of a tyrant and a bunch of stubborn Vikings. Not to mention the fact that he couldn't leave his father all alone with nobody, right? And, even if he did go, he wouldn't have left without telling me…would he? Anyhow, he wouldn't have left, if for those reasons only.

Something flickered across my vision. My attention snapped back towards the abnormally clear sky above me, which was empty of anything except a few clouds. Strange…I could've sworn I saw a-

Just like that, quicker than I thought possible, a black dot appeared out of the sunlight, getting bigger and bigger, until I could make out two wings and…someone waving?

I laughed at the sight and waved back, at least now I knew I didn't dream last night.

But, why was he waving his hand up and down? Doesn't everyone usually move it side to side? It took me a second to actually realize how fast they were coming in. Oh no, Hiccup wasn't waving at me, he was telling me to duck!

As soon as I realized this I immediately threw myself to the ground, and just in time to feel the blast of wind that came from a dragon flying over me. I watched as Toothless came to a running stop in the open cove. His body and wings had wobbled slightly as he landed, as if he were having trouble keeping himself upright. As soon as the Night Fury came to a complete stop, Toothless glanced at me; pupils dilated against his toxic green eyes, and gave a soft inquiring purr. Hiccup immediately jumped off his steed and made his way over to me.

"Astrid!" Hiccup ran over quickly, skidding to a halt right in front of me with concern on his face. "Are you alright?"

I stared for a second before narrowing my eyes at him.

Hiccup blushed slightly and rubbed the back of his neck, "Right, stupid question."

I smiled at his mistake and decided to punch him for it later. I held out my hand to let him help me up, and after a swift lift I was back on my feet again. "What the heck just happened?"

Hiccup shrugged, "Toothless' tailfin got stuck coming down, so we kinda had to make an emergency landing. I think it went okay, considering we didn't crash. Sorry for the close call. We wouldn't have come in so hard if we knew you were in our way."

I patted Toothless' muzzle, who had come up to me with his tail wagging while his rider talked to me, but froze at his excuse. "Wait, his tailfin got stuck? Is that even possible?"

Hiccup was heading to his dragon's tail and I followed him as well, waiting for an explanation. "Well, it easily can if it's a…um...prosthetic."

Now that shear panic and the dark of night had left me from last night, I could take the time to fully observe the brown saddle on the black dragon's back. It was a blazing mixture of metal and leather. The saddle itself was all leather which included the pad which Hiccup and I sat on during our flight, as well as the crisscrossing straps that laced underneath the dragon's belly and across his chest…similar to how a horse's was. The seat of the saddle had two metal rings, one on either side of it, but i decided to ask what those were for later.

The next thing I noticed was the full metal stirrup, the one that Hiccup would maneuver with his foot while flying. Underneath the stirrup was a metal circle which went around Toothless' left forepaw, and connected around it was a rope. Curious, I followed the rope as it went down the Night Fury's body until it reached the tip of his long tail. At the end of the dragon were two different fins. One was sleek, black, and a mixture of scales and flexible membrane. The other half, however, was a different story.

His left tailfin was a rustic brown. Patched together with wood, leather, rope, and held together by metal pins. At the moment it sat there bent towards the ground in a frozen command to take the large animal downwards to the ground. Hiccup came around beside me and kneeled down to examine the fake fin himself, and, after a few minutes of studying, he simply pushed at one of the metal pins and untangled part of the rope. Seeming satisfied with himself he got up and went to the saddle. He shot a smile at me as he clicked the stirrup into a neutral position with his hand. I turned back to the fin in time to see it fold along the dragon's tail perfectly, as if it were actually a part of the Night Fury.

Perplexed, I turned back to the russet-haired boy, who was currently scratching Toothless' neck, and was rewarded with a delighted hum from said dragon. "So, how'd all this happen?"

Hiccup stopped scratching Toothless, which didn't please him but the dragon let his human continue all the same, and the teen looked to me, a look of remorse coming across his features, "Well, if you're talking about his missing fin, then it happened when I kinda…shot him down."

When I didn't say anything he continued, "The night I said that I hit a Night Fury, I actually hit one. I hit Toothless, and the next day I went out looking for him. When I finally found him he was tied up with the bola I shot in the air, but instead of killing him I cut the ropes tying him up and let him go….and then he almost ate me."

Toothless gave him an offended snort and an incredulous glance that was clearly a _'What? No I didn't!'_I nodded at him, "And the saddle?"

Hiccup gave one of his signature sheepish smiles, "I have a lot of time on my hands."

I smiled at his varied answer, "Well, alright then," that's when the thought came to me, "Um…Hiccup, speaking of time..."

Hiccup turned to me again, "Yeah?"

I looked up at the position of the sun to confirm my answer. As I brought my eyes back to Hiccup, I smirked, "You're supposed to be in the arena in an hour."

I guess it took a second for the information to sink in before he freaked out.

"WHAT?" His shout caused Toothless to jump from surprise and worry. The onyx dragon gave a puzzled warble as his rider ran back and forth between the exit and him. "Oh gods, I gotta get back! No-wait I need to take his saddle off! Ugh, then I wouldn't make it in time! But the gear might get damaged-!"He was abruptly cut off as I grabbed his arm and dragged him to the crevasse along the rocky wall, "I'm sure it'll survive a few hours, Hiccup. You can take it off when you're done with your final exam."As I pulled him along he muttered something under his breath that sounded a lot like 'if I survive'. Startled, I glanced back to see that his panicked face has receded, replaced with anxiousness. His eyes were cast towards the ground and he was biting his lower lip in worry. I stopped, "Hiccup?"

That seemed to snap him out of it, because he shook his head and instead pulled me towards the exit instead of the other way around. "It's nothing, Astrid. Come on we're going to be late."

I wasn't convinced, but I decided not to push it. Instead I punched his shoulder and smiled as he flinched, "That was for almost running me over."

He scoffed at me and gave me an incredulous look, "Astrid! Ouch! I need that arm in a few minutes! Couldn't that have waited until _after _I use all my strength to defeat a huge fearsome dragon that could eat me?"

I smirked at his expression and made my way up and out of the cove, "Hmm…nope!"-The cheering of the crowd was deafening. Normally, I would've been screaming and smiling along with all the other Vikings from the anticipation of the upcoming match. This time, however, I didn't make much noise. My hands didn't clap, they fidgeted, my mouth wasn't in the shape of a smile, but switched over to a grimace of worry. I'd never thought I'd say it, but I really really wanted the whole thing to be called off.

As I sat along my reserved place against the arena, the spot for all the other trainees to watch when they've lost, I half-heartedly listened to Stoick's speech.

"Well, I can finally show my face in public again!" his introduction was met with many laughs and cheers from his tribe. "If somebody had told me, that in a few short weeks, Hiccup would go from being…well, uh…Hiccup, to placing first in Dragon Training, then I would've tied 'em to a mast and shipped him off, for he'd a gone mad!"

I almost felt the need to cover my ears as the crowd burst to life again with glee. It didn't help that Tuffnutt was shouting in my ear.

I looked around the arena, searching. _Where the heck is he?_

After we had gotten back to the village, Gobber had immediately located Hiccup and dragged him off to get ready for the big match. Apparently it had taken us longer to get back then we thought, because by the time our teacher found us everyone was already gathered around the training arena. Of course, I was the last of the other trainees to arrive, which sent the others off on a reel of questions. All of which I answered truthfully…or as truthfully as I could without giving away Toothless or the Queen or….ok I had to lie a lot. But it got them off my back about the subject, which was fine with me. Unfortunately, since then I hadn't seen Hiccup at all. He wasn't even here now, watching his dad praise him.

Another big helping of worry washed over me, and I decided to go find him. As I stood up, Tuffnutt glanced at me and asked, "Hey, where are you going? The fight's about to start, you know?"

"I'm going to find a better view," I retorted without looking back.

I made my way down the gravel path that led to the arena entrance, chances were, he'd probably be there seeing as he'd have to go inside in a few minutes.

My guessing was proved correct when I saw him standing at the entrance, listening to his dad speak as if it were a dream.

"Today my boy becomes a Viking, today he becomes one of us!" cheers once more echoed throughout the island, and I took the chance to walk up behind Hiccup.

"You be careful with that dragon," I warned him in a soft voice. Hiccup took a glance at me out of the corner of his eyes, but quickly went back to watching his dad.

"It's not the dragon I'm worried about."

I walked up a bit closer to him at his tentative tone; I realized that he never told me his plan. I wanted at least some idea of what was in store, "What are you going to do?"

The answer was simple, "Put an end to this…I have to try," Hiccup turned towards me and told me what was worrying him, "Astrid, if something…goes wrong, just make sure they don't find Toothless."

I nodded, touched that he trusted me enough to carry out a job this big and important to him, even if he only revealed it to me a day ago. "I will," and I meant it. But I had a promise for him to make himself as well. "Just promise me it won't go wrong." _Please_, I silently whispered in my head.

He opened his mouth to give me an answer, and I wasn't sure if it was the one I wanted to hear or not, but before he could begin Gobber came around the front of the gate. "It's time, Hiccup," he simply stated before gesturing to the open showground, "Knock 'em dead."

Hiccup took a deep breath and walked out into the arena, head held high.

After he passed it, Gobber went out of the stadium and closed the iron barred gate, but that's when I started to shake. Gobber must have noticed, because he gave me a strong pat on the shoulder, "Don't worry so much Astrid. He'll be fine."

He shot a glance at Hiccup as the boy put his helmet on, "I'm goin' up to stand by Stoick…are ya coming?"

I shook my head; if, Odin forbid, something went wrong, I wanted to be as close as possible to help him get out of it alive. Because I know there was no way Toothless would let me ride him by myself.

Hiccup went over to the weapon's rack and picked up a shield as well as a small dagger. He took another deep breath, and I did as well, as he said out loud, "I'm ready."

My heart pounded against my chest and I gripped the gate's bars so hard my knuckles turned white as the other Vikings unlocked the Monstrous Nightmare's cage doors.

It was all quiet for a second before the huge dragon burst forth from its enclosure; its body was ablaze with its own fire. The confused animal charged around the ring, spitting fire out at the audience and clinging to the chain-link ceiling. The fire covering its body smoldered down as its golden eyes landed on Hiccup. My breath caught in my throat as the Nightmare lowered itself down towards the chief's son. The crowd grew silent with anticipation and the dragon made its way towards Hiccup, growling lowly in its throat.

As the dragon advanced on him, Hiccup backed up, dropping his shield and knife on the way. Confused murmurs could be heard, and I leaned my head forwards through a gap between the bars, my eyes narrowing with my own uncertainty. _What in Thor's name is he doing?_

The scarlet and black monstrosity snarled as Hiccup put up his hands, "Hey, it's okay. It's okay."

The dragon didn't yield to him as Toothless had; it still seemed intent on killing him instead. Hiccup slowly reached up to his head and took off his helmet. He made a strange look at it, it was almost sad, before turning back to the dragon, "I'm not one of them."

And just like that he threw his helmet, the symbol of him being a true Viking warrior, down to the ground as if it meant nothing.

The Nightmare glanced at the fallen helmet, and its eyes softened. I stood there shocked; Hiccup had just renounced his name as a Viking, as one of us, to save this dragon from slaughter. For a second, I was filled with an immense relief that he wasn't actually going to fight it. However, that relief was short lived.

Stoick wasn't confused now, he was angry, "Stop the fight," he commanded.

"No!" Hiccup called out to his dad, he kept his eyes on the dragon as he tried to calm it down still. "I need you all to see this. They're not what we think they are."

The dragon gave a small sniff at his hand, somehow sensing he wasn't a threat. I gripped the gate even harder, repeating a calming mantra: he can do this, he can do this, he can do this.

Hiccup glanced at his dad, and then at me. He held my gaze for a second before turning back to the Chief. "We don't have to kill them."

Stoick's reddened face told me he was holding back his anger, but it wouldn't be hidden for long, "I said STOP THE FIGHT!"

The ring of metal on metal could be heard, and suddenly everything went wrong.

The loud noise snapped the dragon out of its calm demeanor and in its panic attacked the thing closest to it: Hiccup.

My heart stopped altogether, and I almost tried to squeeze in through the gaps in the gate as the dragon snapped its jaws closed around the spot Hiccup's hand had been.

The dragon reared its massive head back, inhaling deeply. Thankfully Hiccup could tell what was going to happen and ran a step ahead of the blasting fire that rushed at him from behind. My own scream mixed with his own, as well as the shouts from the other Vikings watching the alarming scene.

As the dragon chased Hiccup, I tried my best to lift the gate. I grabbed at the bars and lifted with all the strength I had, but I couldn't lift it enough to get even my foot underneath before the weight caused me to drop it.

Desperately I didn't even register myself as I screamed, "Hiccup!"

I looked around for something, anything that could get me in there! Finally I spotted a curved axe hanging on the wall. My head reeling, I grabbed it and used it as a lever to prop open the gate. I quickly squeezed under the door and ducked as a wave of flame blew over my head.

Hiccup, who was on the other side of the ring, quickly grabbed a shield in an effort to protect himself, but quickly decided to drop it seeing as it slowed his run down.

I ran up to help him, but, seeing me, he waved a hand for me to get back.

Like Hel I would! There was no way I was going to leave him to get mauled by an enraged dragon! I glanced beside me to find the weapon's rack. I grabbed a hammer and, with precise accuracy, threw it with all my might.

The weapon slammed into the Nightmare's snout, saving Hiccup from a set of serrated teeth that were about to close on him. I watched him as he threw himself behind a wooden barricade and leaned against it, gasping as he tried to catch his breath.

The dragon was brought back to my attention as I heard a loud roar. I turned to find the creature now charging at me. I immediately ran to the side to avoid it.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get the dragon off my tail. I ran for what seemed like hours, but was actually seconds before I heard a loud voice call to us, "This way! Hurry!"

I glanced to see Stoick had opened the gate to the arena and was motioning towards us to get out of there. I switched direction and ran towards the Chief, I took a glance back and to my relief saw that Hiccup had heard as well and was following close behind me.

Unable and not wanting to slow down, my momentum caused me to run directly into Stoick, who caught me effortlessly. I turned back to reach out for Hiccup so I could pull him out of the ring, beat him up for being so incredibly stupid, then hug him until someone pried me off of the boy. As luck would have it, just as he was about to reach us, the dragon blew fire our way again, setting a wooden column near us blast caused Hiccup to back away, but the dragon wouldn't have it. It swiftly swiped a clawed limb at Hiccup and caught him across the shoulder, which threw the boy off of his feet and across the dirt floor of the ring. As he tried to get up the dragon brought its claws down on him, one inches away from impaling his terror gripped me, and I felt my heart clench. He couldn't die! I wouldn't let anything happen to him if I was alive. I made a promise to myself last night and there was no way I was going to go against it! I started to run out once more to help him, "Hiccup!"

But before I could go out I froze. There was a noise; a familiar high-pitched screech rang through the air before I heard someone call out the name, "Night Fury!"

A second later a large blast echoed throughout the stadium. Bright blue fire separated the chains enclosing the arena and I had time to see a black blur enter the ring before the heated projectile impacted the ground, creating a large dust cloud that obscured my vision.

I didn't see what happened next, but there was a lot of roaring and screeching. By the time the cloud settled, Hiccup was sitting on the ground clutching his bruised shoulder, but a safe distance away from the Monstrous Nightmare.

And in between the two was Toothless.

He was standing protectively in front of Hiccup, snarling and swiping at the other dragon to keep it away from his rider. Realizing it was outmatched, the Nightmare backed down and away from the that wasn't the end of this, the other Viking's seemed to realize just what was inside their town at the moment, and many of the closer warriors charged at the black dragon. Hiccup, seeing this, went to his friend and tried to get him to leave, but was unsuccessful.

"The Night Fury…" I was startled by the low mutter behind me.

I was shocked to see Stoick, grab a hammer from the wall and charge towards Toothless. Panicking, I called out to him, "No! Wait, Chief, he's not dangerous!" my words fell on deaf ears, and the redheaded Viking ran at Toothless.

The dragon must've been on edge, because once Toothless spotted the charging Viking, he ran to attack him.

Hiccup ran and called out to him to stop, but neither listened. Toothless used his tail and wings to block other men trying to bring him down, and tackled Stoick. Toothless pinned Stoick down, and raised his head, green gas collected in the back of his mouth; he was going to kill Stoick…

"NO!" Hiccup's shout was heard throughout the whole island. At first, I was scared Toothless wasn't going to listen, but reluctantly, the dragon closed its mouth.

I took this chance to run across the ring towards Hiccup, who was staring at his dragon. That's when the other Viking's decided that that was the time to capture Toothless, hitting him and pinning the beautiful creature to the ground. Hiccup tried to run to his best friend's aid, but I ran the rest of the way to him and threw my arms around his torso as Hiccup pleaded with the others, "Don't hurt him! Please don't hurt him!"I held Hiccup tight to me, half because I still had that picture of him underneath the Nightmare's claws about to die stuck in my head, and half because I didn't want him hurt. I hated to admit it to myself, but Hiccup wasn't strong. With all the Vikings trying to capture Toothless, any stray fist or mallet could snap his neck. There was no way I was going to give them an opportunity to do such a thing.

Hiccup still struggled against my grasp and sent me pleading looks as he tried to help. "Astrid, please…" he begged.

The plea broke my heart, but I couldn't let him go, there was nothing he could do now. "I'm sorry Hiccup."

Stoick, back up from his fall, shouted at his followers, "Put it with the others."

The Chief eyed the two of us, who were staring longingly at Toothless. He strode up to us and grabbed Hiccup's arm, "You and me need to have a talk."

Just like that he was ripped out of my grasp. Hiccup looked back at me with a half scared half pleading look, but followed his father out of the arena all the same.

I was about to follow them, ready to help Hiccup explain the situation, but somebody grabbed the scruff of my shirt, and twirled me around harshly.

I found myself staring into the infuriated eyes of my mother, and I knew I was going to be in just as much trouble in the next few minutes.-The loud bang of the front door being slammed shut caused a short silence throughout the house.

Mom turned to me and I was panicking. I wanted to run to Hiccup and Toothless, to get them out of this mess. I kept glancing at the closed door; if only I could get past Mom, maybe I could help them.

"Astrid, what in Hel's name just happened back there?" the shout was filled with hurt, confusion, betrayal, anger and pretty much every other bad emotion known to Vikings.

When I didn't answer, Mom said, "You were a Viking! The best dragon fighter in your generation! What would make you become friends with a Night Fury, of all things!"

"Mom! You don't understand he's not…"

"Especially the exact one that caused the death of your father!"

My breath caught in my throat, and the shock of the statement made me freeze. Of course, how could I have been too ignorant as to forget? My father, Asger Hofferson, died when I was two years old. Everyone knows that he wasn't killed directly by a dragon, but instead died from a collapsing watch tower during a raid. Of course there's only one dragon that could've done that. Mom blamed the Night Fury ever since. I've been told I resemble my dad so much that I'm almost a female version of him. That's why I started to train hard to fight dragons, so I could be even more like my dad, and maybe avenge him one day. I knew the story. I've heard the tale of my dad thousands of times, but never once had I thought about it last night. I was too scared, too mesmerized, and too caught up in the heat of the moment to even to think about Toothless being the murderer of my dad. And after I had remembered…I didn't think I could even begin to blame the black lizard. Not after finding out their real intentions for raiding us.

I held up my hands slowly, trying to calm Mom down enough to listen to my reasons, but that was going to be hard. "Toothless isn't to blame for that, Mom. He wouldn't even put a scratch on _Hiccup _and you know how he is."

Mom sighed and put a hand up to her head to rub away an oncoming migraine. "Astrid," she started off calmly but sternly, "I do _not _want to hear about that traitor…"

I tried to reject the blame off of his name, it wasn't his fault! They had to understand, "But mom it wasn't Hiccup's..."

"No!" her face switched from hurt to fury when I stated his name again. "I don't want to hear about him! You are to stay away from that Vik-no, that worthless excuse of a person!"

"He's _not _worthless! He's just as powerful as any Viking, maybe even better! You can't pin the blame on him just because he's different!" I was irate now, what she was claiming was way out of line, and she knew it.

"That's not why I'm blaming him!" she was yelling again, her eyes aflame with anger. "It was _his _dragon that attacked our tribe, it almost killed Stoick and it injured others as well! Dragons are our enemies! And they are not, nor will they ever be anything else!"

"Eydis!"

We both turned to face the, now, open door. In the doorway stood Snotlout's dad, Spitelout. His hair was unruly and he was breathing hard, as if he had to run a long way in a short period of time. The news was directed to my mom, "Stoic commands that all the adults are to prepare for battle!"

He turned his head to where he was staring at me. I could see the betrayal, the rage in his eyes. He thought of me as a traitor. He gave a grimace at seeing me before he turned back to Mother.

"He knows how to find the Nest."

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**I'm not very happy with this chapter...the whole thing seemed kinda rushed. Oh well, tell me what you guys thing :) RxR everyone!**

**~Oliver**

**(PS: i've decided to go on till the end of the movie, so look forward to more! Thanks to everyone for their opinions, i hope i make you happy!)**


	4. Something Crazy

**Konichiwa! (or however it's spelled...)**

**Yes, yes i know what you're all thinking..."Ohmigosh! AwesomeOliver posted a chapter? It's a miracle!" However, before you start pelting me with various Thanksgiving dishes (or other, more deadly objects) i shall give 3 reasons to why I've been nonexistent for the past four months. School is busy and stressful for a senior (especially when half of the teachers are wack-jobs), I've been throughly hooked on Final Fantasy 7 (If i wrote, their personalities would get mixed up. Can you imagine Hiccup acting like Vincent Valentine? Not. Pretty.), and thirdly...i can't seem to get off my lazy arse :-P So there ya go! But you can finally let out that breath you've been holding (figuratively i hope) and enjoy a fresh, shiny new chapter XD**

_**Disclaimer: I do not own HTTYD...but i do own a copy of the new My Chemical Romance CD which makes me happy! :)**_

**Happy Thanksgiving everybody!**

* * *

4. Something Crazy

BANG! BANG! BANG!

It had been thirty minutes since my mom left, but it felt more like ten years. Since she'd closed the door behind her, not once had my fists stopped pounding on the front door.

"LET ME OUT!" my bellow echoed throughout the house.

I had to find Hiccup! We needed to get Toothless and stop the adults! They were headed into a fight they couldn't win. I'd tried to stop Mom from going, but she wouldn't have it:

"_He knows how to find the Nest." Spitelout said to my mother, his smirk holding a promise of victory against an unknown threat._

"_How?" was all Mom uttered as she stood frozen, taking in the information the other man had just delivered_

"_The boy's dragon! It can lead us to its home! Now come on, get ready and meet at the docks for immediate departure," and with that last command he ran out the door to tell someone else the seemingly good news._

_After he was gone from my sight, I turned to find Mom already grabbing her shield and spear from the far corner of the room before rushing to get out of the door._

_I panicked, "Mom! No wait you can't leave! Please you'll die!"_

_She stopped at my last claim, appalled that I'd ever say such a thing. "Astrid, I can't believe what you've become. To doubt our family's strength? Our ability to win? Why?" She let out a sigh, and then her eyes hardened._

"_It's that boy," she muttered. "He's made you lose your faith in your family. In your people."_

_I shook my head, "No…Mom it's not like that. I…"_

"_You will stay here, inside the house, until I return. And if ya' leave I swear to Odin, I will throw that outcast off the island myself so he won't fill yer head with such nonsense."_

_And with that last threat, she exited the house, placed a metal lock on the door from the outside, and left to fight a losing battle._

I was starting to get tired and frustrated at my lack of progress of breaking down the door. I quit using my fists and threw myself against the hardened wood, hoping my weight combined with my strength could loosen the lock. Unfortunately, the only outcome my harsh brutality gave me was a bruised shoulder. I ran into the barricaded door again, and again, and again, and again, until my thrusts became more or less half-hearted.

I stopped after one last try, and leaned against the doorframe, panting from the effort. Why? Why? Why couldn't I open the stupid door! Toothless might be dead, or Hiccup could be in the dungeon for his crimes. Or worse…Hiccup could actually be forced to fight in the battle for all that he's done. I had to help him, I _had _to.

Why couldn't the grownups understand what had happened? Why wouldn't Mom listen to me? She's always listened to me before! They had to see that Toothless wasn't a danger to anybody, none of the dragons were! Hiccup and I just have to prove it to them! "Please," I whispered, "…let me out."

"Well….alright, but only because you said 'please'," the lazy voice of Tuffnutt drifted through the entryway.

I gasped and shot to my feet, hearing the lock on the door being smashed off by, undoubtedly, a stone hammer. The door opened and sunlight flooded into the house, and in my doorway were Snotlout and the twins who all had evil smirks on their faces.

"Y-you're helping me," they all nodded simultaneously at my observation. "Why did you let me out? Aren't you mad at Hiccup like everyone else?"

"Well….we were…" Tuff started saying

"But…" His sister continued.

"Then we got over it!" The blonde twins finished the sentence together without pause.

I raised an eyebrow and Snotlout explained, "Dude, that Night Fury saved the kid's butt. It wasn't trying to kill anyone until the first ding-dong ran into the arena to attack it, duh."

"Yeah! Were the adults blind or something? I mean, even my _brother _had enough common sense to see that it was only protecting Hiccup."

"Excuse me? What the heck is _that _supposed to mean?" Tuffnutt shouted.

"It means you're simple minded, Barf-for-Brains!"

"Well that means you aren't any better, Slimeslobberer!"

"GUYS!" the twins shut up the instant I shouted at them. "Where's Hiccup? And Fishlegs?"

Tuff scoffed, "Notice how she says Hiccup's name first? I told you they were…ouch!" he shouted out in pain, clutching his head as the brick I threw at his skull fell onto the ground in front of him. I hissed, "Where are they?"

"We were going to get Fishlegs when we heard you banging on the door. And I think Hiccup's at the docks." Snotlout said.

Ruff gave him an incredulous look, "Still? He was there when the others left to go find the Nest, wasn't he?"

"Seriously? He must've been there for at least…Hey! Where are you going?" the male twin shouted at me as I raced down towards the sea.

I ran so fast my feet almost didn't even hit the ground, and I smiled the whole time. He's alright! He's alright! My brain was on overdrive as I hurried down the path. The situation we were in wasn't any better, but at least I knew Hiccup wasn't going off to fight that vile monster. At least not without me.

I finally reached the wooden ramp that lead down the Cliffside to the boats, all of which were gone at the moment, and stopped abruptly, "Hiccup!"

The shouting of his name was an instinctual reaction to the relief I felt when I saw his silhouetted form out on the docks. When he didn't react to my call, I walked up to his side and scrutinized him.

He was just there, standing on the edge of the bridge, eyes aimed at the calm sea. He didn't move, didn't acknowledge that he knew I was here. He just stood still. He looked so downcast, so put-out and dejected, that I thought about giving him a hug for a second. But I pushed the idea aside, he didn't need comfort right now, he needed confidence.

I strode up to him and took a glance at his face, which hadn't moved from its original position at all.

I let out a breath at his silence and looked out at the ocean with him, "It's a mess."

He gave me a sideways glance, just to see if it was me, then went back to brooding. When he didn't say anything I continued, "You must feel horrible. You've lost everything. Your father, your tribe, your best friend…"

"Thank you, for summing that up." his voice was laced with irritation and sarcasm. Right, probably not the best subject I could've brought to his attention, but it got him to talk at least.

He sighed, "Why couldn't I have killed that dragon when I found it in the woods? It would've been better for everyone."

"You're right, everyone else would've done it." I turned to him fully, so he could hear my next question. "So why didn't you?"

Hiccup seemed to freeze, as if he were trying to figure that out himself. "Why _didn't _you?" i egged him on.

He shrugged and turned to leave, "I don't know…I-I couldn't," he turned to face me, annoyance fluttering across his features, "Look, why is this so important to you all of a sudden?"

I edged closer to him, a serious look on my face, "Because I want to remember what you say. Right now!" He was going to be a hero. Maybe today, maybe in a few years, but I knew in my soul that he was going to do something great! And I wanted to hear his words, so that I could grow old and say what the famous Dragon Rider of Berk's thoughts were when his life was changed forever. I wanted to know them by heart, and restate them, so they could be passed down through generations. I wanted the world to hear the story of this boy and how his forbidden friendship came to be.

Hiccup, fed up with my persistence, snapped back his answer at me. "Ugh! For the love of-I was a coward! I was weak! I wouldn't kill a dragon!"

Not exactly the sentence I was searching for, but I was getting close. "You said _wouldn't _that time!"

"Well, whatever! I wouldn't," he threw his hands down in frustration, before a look of self-loathing appeared on his face. "Three-hundred years and I am the first Viking who wouldn't kill a dragon."

He turned away from me, and I looked down at the ground. I could see it on his face, through his actions, that he didn't believe in himself. He couldn't see the good that came out of the situation he was in now. He believed that this was just another screw-up he made, and this time he wasn't going to get another chance to redeem himself. Of course, this time, he drug his best friend down with him. I didn't know how I was able to tell this about him, but inside I just knew. All those years of being called the worst Viking to have ever lived really took a toll on him.

But he was so much more than that. He was a much greater person than anybody gave him credit for. Maybe he thought this whole episode was a dream, a part of me even thought that as well. But, no, this was real. He'd discovered something amazing, something so unheard of that even the gods couldn't have known this was going to happen. There was something about Hiccup that nobody, not even himself, had realized; deep down, he was someone who was meant to change the world. He and Toothless were destined for great things. I smiled softly at him, "First to ride one though. So…"

His head perked up at that assertion, and stood there silent for a second before the truth dawned on him. "I wouldn't kill him because he looked as frightened as I was. I looked at him…"

He whispered the last part of it to himself, in an almost dreamlike state of nostalgia, "…and I saw myself."

I smiled again, and a warm feeling flickered inside me. There. That's what I was looking for. I set my eyes to the horizon, "I bet he's really frightened right now." _And so are you_. "What are you going to do about it?" I challenged.

Hiccup gave a shrug, "Eh, probably something stupid."

Well, it was a start. "Good, but you've already done that…"

Slowly, a trademark smirk reached his lips, and he edged towards the village a little bit. "Then something crazy!" and with that, he shot back up the road and through the street.

"That's more like it." I raced after him, eager to help anyway I could. It was about time the old Hiccup came back.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I followed him without question all the way to the Training Arena. I figured whatever plan he had was going to include dragons, but it still surprised me when he entered the stone and metal vicinity. He stood still in the middle of it for a few seconds, hand under his chin as he thought through something. After a while he turned to me, "Hey are the other trainees still here? Or did they go off to the Nest too?"

"No, they're still here. They actually told me where to find you." Hiccup nodded at me and asked me to go find them, which I willingly did.

It didn't take me long to find the guys and Ruffnutt. They were still at Fishlegs' house, discussing what they saw in the arena earlier that day. When I told them that Hiccup wanted them, they seemed excited to help.

"Finally! We get to see some action!" Snotlout had shouted before taking off to the arena with the rest of us only a footstep behind.

When we got back, Hiccup was in the same spot I left him in, except he was turned towards the Nadder's cage door.

"If you're planning on getting eaten, I'd definitely go with the Gronkle," Fishlegs' statement caught his attention and he turned around to see Tuffnutt walking up to him.

"You are wise to seek help from the world's most deadly weapon…" Hiccup stared at him blankly, "…it's me."

He was suddenly shoved away roughly by Snotlout. "I love this plan!" he said, completely ignoring the fact that Hiccup hadn't voiced any plan of action yet.

Ruffnut pushed the bulky teen out of the way and stared Hiccup in the face, "You're crazy! I like that…"

There was a strange pang in my chest at that last sentence, which caused me to narrow my eyes, and, before thinking, I roughly grabbed the blonde's pigtail and pulled her away from the chieftain's son. I almost paused after pushing her away. _Why the heck did I just do that? _I wondered to myself. I quickly made up for my strange behavior by asking Hiccup, "So what _is _the plan?"

Hiccup froze in surprise at the question before letting a smirk mark his face. He quickly pulled me to him and whispered his thoughts into my ear. When he pulled away, that same smirk still on him, I stared at him with wide eyes, not saying anything as his words lolled around in my mind.

"WHAT? Are you insane?" I finally shouted at him. Hiccup shrugged in a nonchalant manner, and turned to look thoughtfully at one of the other cage doors.

"Yeah pretty much, but if there's not enough noise, he should come out calmly." he shot a glance at me when he said 'noise' before turning back towards the wooden doors.

I grabbed one of his shoulders and spun him around to face me. My voice was (slightly) calm but firm with him at the same time, "Hiccup, I totally understand the fact that we need dragons to find the nest. And that's fine with me, but I will _not _let you let loose a dragon that almost killed you half an hour ago!"

"But, Astrid, we need _at least _four dragons to get there, and these guys are all we've got!" he gestured to the Nadder, Gronkle, and Zippleback he had already let out. The sight of the other dragons caught me off guard since I didn't see them when I came in, and I jumped a little in surprise.

I shot a glance at Hiccup. What I said was true; I was fine with the idea of riding one of the dragons. What I _didn't _like was the fact that he wanted the Monstrous Nightmare to come along too. It had already tried to kill him once today and that was enough for my lifetime.

"Listen, we barely made it out alive earlier, and this time there's no Toothless that's going to burst in and save you."

He flinched at the reminder of his best friend, but rebuked, "Well, without him," he guestured to the Nightmare's pen, "one of us will have to be left behind. Do you want it to be you?"

The authority in his tone caught me off guard as he muttered the warning to me. It took me a second to realize that he may be a clumsy, small Viking, but when it comes down to leadership you can tell he's the Chief's son.

I sighed, and glared at him, "Fine, but if you die when you try to calm it down, I'll kill you."

His 'leader' face slid off easily as his eyes widened with fear and he gulped, "Uh…you can do that?"

"Trust me, I'll find a way."

"Okayyy…. Don't die, got it!" he gave me two thumbs up.

"And you're not going to be the one riding on it. You're going to ride with me, deal?"

"Deal."

"Hey Hiccup!" the two of us turned towards the arena entrance at Fishlegs' voice. He, the twins, and Snotlout were eying the released dragons wearily. "Um…w-what do we do with them?"

Hiccup gave a small smile, "It's okay guys, I'll get you started, but Snotlout, I need you to come here for a second."

The raven haired Viking cocked his head to the side in confusion, but came up to Hiccup's side anyway. The others, not knowing what to do, followed him to us as well.

We all stood in a line behind Hiccup, who walked into the Nightmare's cage door with eyes focused straight ahead. I held my breath as he opened the large door and entered into the unlit confines of the pen.

It didn't take long for me to start fidgeting, even though no sounds could be heard from the general direction they were in. I wrung my hands together in anxiety. I knew I shouldn't show how nervous I was, it would worry the others even more that they were already. I took in a shaky breath and closed my eyes to calm myself. Only when I heard the creak of rusty hinges did I open my eyes and give a hefty sigh of relief. Hiccup had a hand near the dragon's nose, slowly leading the beast out into the murky sunshine of Berk. I gazed at the Nightmare, who seemed tranquil enough being kindly led into the fresh air, and relaxed a little. As Hiccup started to bring it towards Snotlout, the boy became unsure of the situation. He caught sight of a broken spear head on the ground in front of him and reached out for it out of habit. I gave him a light tap on his shoulder with my fist, knowing the sight of an armed human would set the creature off again. I gave him a noise of disapproval, and he hesitantly stood up straight again. As Hiccup reached Snotlout's side, he reached for the bigger teen's hand. He pulled against the russet boy's hold slightly and the dragon came up. "Hey...w-what are.."

The dragon snorted softly, which in turn made Snotlout tense up. Hiccup shot the boy a calming glance and guided his hand back to the Monstrous Nightmare's nose, speaking words of encouragement while doing so. Once his hand was on the dragon's nose though, it was like he had an epiphany. His face lit up and he let out a chuckle, hinting that he was probably thinking something along the lines of 'Oh great gods! I'm touching a freaking dragon!'

Looking triumphant, Hiccup abruptly walked away from the two. Unsure of what to do next, Snotlout called back to him, "W-where are you goin'?"

Hiccup started rummaging through a wooden chest that rested along the back wall, and produced a long strand of rope. "You're going to need something to help you hold on."

We all stared incredulously at the rope and then at the dragons. Hiccup smiled at our reactions. "There's a barrel of fish in the corner over there. Pick one up and feed it to one of the dragons. It'll warm up to you quicker with a snack."

Deciding which dragon we wanted was easy for us. Snotlout immediately claimed the Nightmare, which was lovingly nuzzling him. Fishlegs seemed infatuated with the large Gronkle and took the beast for his own. For some reason, the Nadder caught my attention as it eyed me with faint curiosity. Which left the Zippleback for the twins. Hiccup gave us quick, simple instructions: feed the dragon, pet the dragon, and get ready to _ride _the dragon. Simple enough for us to follow…well most of us.

The twins ended up arguing and they pushed each other in front of them as they volunteered the other to go first. In the end, Tuffnutt lost the argument when his sister slapped him across the face with an Icelandic cod. Tuffnutt went up to the dragon holding a smoked eel he'd found in the basket in his hand. He held it out as an offering while shuffling slowly in the Zippleback's direction. "Here…cute…little…dragon-thing."

At first, the dragon seemed interested in the boy, and both heads moved towards him in a curious manner. I actually thought it was going pretty well. Until the dragon gave a sniff and let out a horrified screech.

Hiccup turned around from where he was helping Fishlegs, and practically jumped out of his skin at the sight, "Whoa! Wait! Don't give them that!"

The dragon was rearing up now, swatting at the twin with its tail repeatedly. Tuff was dodging each with uncharacteristic accuracy, but had a confused look on his face as he was doing so. I was slightly confused too. It was a peaceful offering of food wasn't it? So why'd it attack?

Hiccup ran to Tuffnut and swiped the eel out of his hand and threw it up and out of the arena. He then turned around to the dragon and held up his hands, shouting calming words to it. "Hey, it's ok. It was just a mistake. He didn't know. It's alright guys, calm down."

After a minute or so of persuasion and cooing on Hiccup's part, the double-headed dragon did calm down enough to let the boy pat each of its heads.

I stared blankly at them for a second. You'd think Hiccup had been working with dragons for years by the way he handled them. I watched as he signaled the twins to grab two big fish out of the basket, and then let them feed the dragon, who, apparently, had forgotten all about the eel.

I was watching Hiccup work his magic with a smile on my face, when I felt something nudge my elbow. I looked to my left and saw the giant, yellow eye of the Nadder scrutinizing me carefully.

I slowly brought my hand up to brush against its scales, "Hey there boy…" the dragon gave an affronted squawk and my hand paused in midair.

"Um…girl?" the dragon hummed softly at the correction, and I smiled at the creature's intelligence. My hand went to the dragon again and ran over the smooth blue and yellow scales. A picture of Hiccup scratching Toothless along the neck popped up into my mind, and automatically I started scraping the Nadder's neck. The dragon immediately perked up and leaned into my hand, clacking its jaw together in pleasure.

I giggled at the animal's antics, but suddenly remembered something. "I hit you with a shield during training didn't I?"

The dragon opened a single, unmoving eye and trained it on me. I let out a soft sigh, "I'm sorry about that. If I knew you were friendly I wouldn't have done it."

She purred low in her throat, as if she were forgiving me.

"So…what should we name you?" The question caught the dragon's full attention. "Hm…how about…Dagna?" the Nadder thought for a second before shaking her head.

"Okay then, how's Edda?"

Another shake.

"Herdis?"

Shake.

"Bluebell?"

Shake.

"Thora?"

Shake.

"Ugh, I give up!"

"Astrid," a voice came from her direction.

"No, I'm not naming you after me. That's just weird," I said.

"Astrid, I'm not your dragon." the same voice came again, and Hiccup appeared from behind 'Nameless' and walked up to me. I blushed after I realized I'd thought his voice was the dragon's at first.

"What are you doing?" he inquired with a hint of amusement in his voice.

I turned away from him, "Trying to name the Nadder."

Hiccup raised an eyebrow and then took a look at the blue dragon. "Hm…how about Cress?"

I turned towards him and contemplated the name he offered. "Why that?"

Hiccup shrugged, "Well, the horn on her nose curves inward a little bit like crest. But Crest sounds too manly for her," the dragon snorted, "so I took off the 't' at the end and added an extra 's'."

I looked at the Nadder out of the corner of my eye. "Well…do you like Cress?"

The dragon cocked her head to the side, shifting her weight back and forth on her feet. She turned her head to look at Hiccup and ruffled his hair with her beak-like mouth.

I scowled at her, "Oh sure, go ahead! Take the dragon-whisperer's side!"

Hiccup smiled, an air of dignity surrounding him, "Come on, Astrid. Who wouldn't love some of this!" He brought his hands down and out to his sides before striking a pose.

I rolled my eyes at his antics, "Hiccup, you just gestured to all of you."

His face dropped, "Yeah I did, didn't I? That seems to happen a lot."

There was suddenly a loud crash from the other end of the arena, followed by a loud curse from one of the twins. The noise startled Cress and her wings shot out in surprise. The leathery appendage knocked me across the back and I awkwardly fell.

The following result to my surprise was both good and bad. It was good, because Hiccup caught me before I fell to the ground. Unfortunately, it was bad for the exact same reason. Hiccup caught me, but we both staggered form the force the dragon let off, and our feet entangled with the others. Gravity dragged my down and with a _thump _I landed on the stone floor. I found my back against the ground and a slightly dazed Hiccup right above me, his hands placed on either side of my head. We both gazed at each other and finally, recognizing the awkward position we were in, blushed a deep scarlet that rivaled the color of the Nightmare's scales.

Hiccup rubbed the back of his neck his eyes cast at the top of my head, "Uh…well, this is somewhat familiar." he let out a nervous chuckle as he tried to make light of the situation.

I blushed even harder, remembering the time I fell on him during training. "Hm…you can say that again."

He nodded and swiftly got to his feet, holding his hand out to me after he was up. I took it and once I was standing again I cleared my throat. "You guys ready?" I called out to the others.

A chorus of 'Yeah!'s and 'Duh!'s rang out as an answer. I nodded at them as they clambered onto their rides and I turned to our temporary leader, a light shade of pink still lingering along my cheeks. "You ready to get your friend back."

His expression hardened, and he turned his eyes to the sky, his hands closing into fists. "I was ready the moment he came to save me."

* * *

**Yay! Our little Hiccup is ready for battle! Unfortunately, Astrid may freak out a little bit at that fact :-P So, i hope this chapter was worth the wait! And i will try very, very, very, VERY hard to get the next one out quicker. If not...well you can go ahead and thrown various Christmas merchandise at me along with the Thanksgiving food...**

**Let's see...anything else? Oh Yeah! Review please! Your words of encouragement bring a smile to my face and TOTALLY make my day (and trust me, with the stress i get from Physics and Calculus at school nowadays...i really need them).**

**Love yas!**  
**~Oliver **


	5. Stubbornness Issues

**I'm not even going to try to explain why this took so long to get up. Let's just say that life sucks...**

**Anywho, the good news is that I was actually happy with how this chapter came out :) and i got it done before we leave for vacation too. I always seem to post theses chapters before i go on trips...weird.**

**Well i'm not gonna hold you back any longer, go indulge yourself with words!**

_**Disclaimer: Knock, knock. Who's there? HTTYD belongs to. HTTYD belongs to who? NOT ME! XD HAHAHAHaHahahahahaha…ha….God, that was a lame joke!**_

* * *

Chapter 5: Stubbornness Issues

It felt it had been forever since I've soared through the sky. True, it had only been a day ago, but flying was something that, if you tried it once, you were immediately addicted to. It was like drinking mead for the first time: intense, and a little distasteful at first, but afterwards it became something you craved deeply for, whether you were infuriated, forlorn, joyful, or simply bored. It was something that always caught your attention and chased you around in the back of your mind. That's what I felt the moment I clambered onto Cress' back. The feeling of the muscles tightening and loosening as she shifted, the insane sensation of being on such a dangerous creature, it was something I realized I loved. I had no experience doing this, but I felt that I would make up for missing out on such a wonderful thing in the years to come.

Hiccup was in front of me before I knew it, making his way up the dragon's back faster then any of us. Not that it surprised me. The initial take off was quite…hasty. Hiccup didn't really know how to teach people how to fly, saying it was pretty much a synchronization based on trust and instinct between the rider and dragon. At least that's what he felt when he rode Toothless. He gave a few tips and pointers about flying by ourselves: lean with the dragon when it turns, don't shout too close to it's head, don't kick it like a horse because it'll throw you off into a cold pond and ignore you for hours on end, and other stuff he learned on his own during the past few weeks.

The take offs would have taken longer than they did if we weren't in such a hurry to get to the Nest. It was a rushed start, but when we finally got up in the air, it felt like coming home again. Yes, that's a cheesy way to describe it, and I'd never say it out loud, but the warm, familiar feeling when we finally started flying along the atmosphere couldn't be described with any other words.

The feeling of cold air rushing across my body disappeared about fifteen minutes after we took off, my skin left numb from the icy Northern weather. I ignored the steams of water that were pulled from my eyes by the wind, and I ignored the strands of yellow hair that whipped across my face. The only thing I focused on was the rise and fall of my arms that coincided with Hiccup's breathing. My forehead was placed against his back in an effort to block some of the chilling air that rushed past us, and I conceived the unannounced urge to take a nap.

At first, I could hear half-hidden chuckles and snickers coming from Snotlout and Tuffnutt, but one sharp warning glance from me shut them up quickly. However, it did nothing to wipe off the knowing smirk from Ruffnutt's face. When she wouldn't back down to my threatening glare, she rolled her eyes at me and nodded towards the boy in my arms. I pointedly decided to ignored her.

Hiccup was stationary throughout the whole thing, ignorant of the event because the wind rushing in his ears cut off his hearing to an extent.

In fact, he had been eerily silent since we took off from Berk; he hadn't said a word to anyone unless they were in dire need of his expertise. He hadn't moved either, which worried me. His eyes didn't deviate from the blank patch of fog in the distance, which had risen up from the horizon moments earlier.

Apprehensively, I put my hand on Hiccup's shoulder, gripping it slightly to get his attention, "Hiccup…"

He let out a sharp hiss through his teeth, his shoulder jerked slightly as if to remove itself from under my grasp. I immediately took my hand away, afraid from his sudden reaction, "What's the matter?"

He glanced back at me when he heard my worried tone, a pained look fading from his expression, "Oh, it's nothing Astrid," he rolled his shoulder slightly, as if to relax the muscles in it, "My shoulder's just bruised a little bit from where the Nightmare caught me earlier."

I blinked, and looked at his shoulder, gently sliding the collar of his tunic off so I could see the damage. 'Bruised' was an understatement. I couldn't see anything except the deep purple and blue splotch that marred his shoulder, the skin was hot to the touch and slightly swollen.

I fought the urge to glance back at the scarlet lizard, which was flying right behind us, and lob something heavy and sharp at the creature. The fact that the dragon, who attacked Hiccup a few hours earlier, was part of our little squad still unsettled me to an unhealthy amount, but unless I wanted to get rid of Snotlout as well (which was moderately tempting), I had to let the Monstrous Nightmare tag along.

Hiccup, sensing my discomfort of the subject, interjected my thoughts, "I-It's really not that bad though! Actually, I think it's healing pretty fast; it just looks worse than it really is."

I narrowed my eyes slightly at his statement, not liking the fact that he was lying to me. But I decided to save the punch I should give him for later, after we saved our parents. I settled for brushing my thumb back and forth across the contusion softly, hoping to relieve any tension that had built up under the injury.

I sighed, scooting closer to the chieftain's son out of warmth and necessity, and placed my head on his unharmed shoulder, my mouth near his ear. I whispered softly to him, "Hiccup, are you okay?"

I could hear the confusion in his voice when he answered, "Huh? Astrid, I told you it's okay. It's just a brui-"

"No, not that," I cut him off softly, twisting in my seat a little to catch a glimpse of his face. His head was turned slightly to the left so he could see me out of the corner of his eye. Most of his attention was on guiding Cress, but I could tell he was listening intently to what I was going to say as well.

"You've been very quiet since we took off," I continued softly, "which is strange, even for you. So what's wrong?"

I felt Hiccup tense under my grasp and his breath hitch for a second before quickly returning to normal. I waited, not wanting to pressure him to tell me everything. He was in a delicate situation right now, and I didn't know which line would be disastrous to cross; so all I did was wait for him to answer on his own.

He was silent for a long time, staring at nothing but the distant patch of fog we was coming up on the horizon. With no response coming from him, I almost gave up and let the question drop. That is, until he gave a deep, defeated sigh and took a glance at me with an emotionless bravado, "I use the left stirrup of Toothless' saddle to control his tailfin."

I blinked at him, my voice caught in my throat from the confusion I felt at the sentence.

"There are six positions that it can be moved to," he continued, not waiting to see if I was going to speak, "For the first one, you move your foot down. The toes are pointed at the ground with the heel in the air. This one lets him go straight up. The second is right behind it, just tilt your heel back a little and you'll hear the stirrup click. This makes him go to the right."

I gaped at him, my hold on him tightening. No, why was he telling me this?

"Hiccup…"

"The third is a neutral position, his tailfin is straight so he can glide in a straight line, you need that position to help him lift off too. The next two have your heel pointing downwards. The fourth position turns him left, and the one after it lets him go down. And the last, with your heel pointing all the way down, folds his tailfin along his tail. _Never _do that position unless he's standing on the ground or else you'll find yourself in a freefall…Astrid, hey, you're paying attention to all of this, right?"

He looked back at me with a stern look, as if he was a teacher talking to a disruptive student. I shook my head to clear it from all the muddled thoughts that were floating around. "Hiccup, I got it. I just…why are you telling me all of this? You know very well that Toothless would never let me ride him without you. Why are you talking like you're about to leave or…"

I froze. Wait a second. No…no, no, no, _no_! My confusion melted into righteous anger and disbelief. Hiccup's stern expression left, and he gave a soft 'hm' of grave satisfaction that I had caught on to his words. Gods, I wanted to hit him!

"No! you are _not _telling me this! I don't want to hear it Hiccup Haddock!" I shouted at him, not completely oblivious to the shocked expressions that appeared on the amateur riders' faces as they heard my outburst from behind. I didn't give a damn, let them hear!

Hiccup sighed and said calmly but defiantly, "Astrid, you know very well that there's a chance I might not make it. And if that happens I don't want Toothless left alone on the ground. He's a dragon, it'll kill him if he wouldn't be able to fly."

"Cut it out Hiccup! This isn't funny! I'm not gonna promise to comply to some stupid death wish for you, because it's not going to happen! Besides Toothless wouldn't even want me _near _him if-"

"It's not about what either of you want! It's about what I need you to do, ok? I'm not going to let everything go back to the way it was…or _is_, if I go. I need you two to show that dragons and Vikings can get along! As long as the both of you make it out alive, everything will be okay…"

I gripped his arm tighter, jerking it back to me as if it would eject the thoughts out of his head, "So you think everything will be fine if YOU die? I'm not going to do anything! So if you want things to change on Berk then you have to do it yourself, got it!"

"And what if I won't be here to do that, Astrid? What will you do? Forget about the whole thing, and continue to kill peaceful creatures? Will you leave Toothless, a dragon who does just about everything while IN THE AIR, to live a flightless life? Give me an answer to that!"

"NO-!"

"ASTRID!"

I ground my teeth, my mind screaming to refuse the words that were spewed at me! Hiccup couldn't die! Not when I just found out about Toothless, and the Nest, and the fact that I wanted to take care of him! Is that what his weeks of unfolding truths and discovery was going to lead to? Death? My eyes burned from the tears of frustration that etched along the back of them, as well as the impalpable thoughts that I couldn't replicate into words.

Our argument had led to us screaming at each other, Hiccup's head turned my way and our eyes locked. Our fury (or was it concern?) filed the air with a thick tension that wouldn't be swept away by the air sweeping past us. We stared each other down, silently willing the other's stubbornness to crumble.

"Hey, guys, no more fighting, ok?" we didn't flinch as Fishlegs' voice reached our ears, my blue iris never straying from Hiccup's emerald ones.

"Yeah, you're both starting to sound like an old married couple!" If Tuffnutt didn't shut up soon, I was going to-

"Helheim's Gate!"

Hiccup and I broke contact, looking left to see the dense patch of fog dampened the air around us. Hiccup sighed, giving me one slightly annoyed glance before guiding Cress into the bleached abyss.

The dragon jerked right after she entered the fog, her eyes widening and darting around. The other dragons behind us were acting the same way. The twins' Zippleback was screeching slightly at the change in atmosphere, and the Gronkle Fishlegs was on started swerving slightly.

I held on to Hiccup tighter as we flew through the mist, the only sound heard in the void was the flapping of wings as we cautiously entered.

At least until we were about halfway into the misty abyss.

We all tensed at the distant roar echoing from the almost-visible mountain we were coming upon. And our fears were confirmed by the angry orange glow coming from the same direction.

"Oh no," I uttered the understatement of the year as we closed in on the scene.

Smoke began to mingle with the fog, creating grayish clouds above our heads, the air was swirling from the tension and fear emitted by the creatures around it, and, as our vision came to, I nearly fell off of Cress from witnessing the sheer size of the monstrosity that was the Queen.

Boats were set aflame, the fire's crackling and the ships dying creaks almost undistinguishable in the chaotic screams coming from the villagers. The air felt hot with fear and confusion, and my skin began to dampen from sweat. On the island, rocks were strewn about, as if a pair of trolls had decided to see who could win at throwing the boulders the farthest.

Gobber and Stoick were on the ground, distracting the monster while the rest of the army ran to the west side of the island. The Queen growled lowly, all her eyes narrowing in disgust at their pathetic attempt to save the others. She drew her head away from them, mouth open, and ready to fire.

Hiccup gasped, "Dad!"

We veered sharply, dropping out of the sky with massive speed. I glanced back and the others were following close behind. I turned back and saw we were right behind the Queen's head, who was gathering gas in her mouth to burn the adults to a crisp.

Without thinking I screamed, "Cress! Fire!"

The Nadder squawked, releasing a sparking ray of flame from her jowls. The blast hit with perfect precision, marring the back of the other dragon's head. The Queen stumbled at the sudden impact, giving Stock and Gobber time to get out of the dangerous area, their eyes wide with surprise as they watched us fly above.

Something seemed to come over Hiccup, a plan working it's way into his head as he shouted orders to the others behind us.

"Ruff, tuff, watch your backs! Move Fishlegs!"

The other trainees gathered closer, bringing their dragons level with Cress. I shot a glance at the villagers down on the island, smirking at the stupefied expressions that swept across the crowd.

I heard Snotlout acknowledge the gnome in the room by shouting**(1)**, "Look at us! We're on a dragon! We're all on dragons! All of us!"

I couldn't keep the delighted grin off my face at the comments, and I looked up to see that Hiccup had a smirk to match mine as well.

"Alright guys! Up! Let's move it!"

An ear shattering roar from my right broke that cheerful expression though, and we both turned to see the large leviathan attacking the ships, apparently too focused on keeping the Vikings on the island long enough to devour them. Hiccup saw this too, turning back to the blonde on the Gronkle for a quick quid pro quo.

"Okay Fishlegs, break it down!"

The boy nodded tenaciously before studying the Queen, "Okay, uh… heavily armored head and tail made for bashing and crushing! Steer clear of both! Small eyes, large nostrils. Relies on hearing and smell!"

Hiccup nodded hastily, contemplating his newfound information. He turned Cress into a curve, circling the monster. "Okay, Lout, Legs, hang in it's blind spot. Make noise, keep it confused."

The two boys gave grunts of approval, and turned their rides towards the Queen, who was still reeking destruction on the boats, which were toast even if she didn't shred them to bits.

Hiccup turned around to the other side of Cress, gesturing to the twins, "Ruff, Tuff, find out if that thing has a shot limit," a sly smirk made it's way across his face, "Make it mad."

Ruffnutt returned his enthusiasm with a smirk of her own, "That's my specialty!"

Tuffnutt gave her an incredulous look , "Since when? Everyone knows I'm more annoying! See?"

I rolled my eyes as he twirled upside down, dragging a very confused Zippleback head with him as he proceeded to irk his sister.

Hiccup narrowed his eyes as he heard another loud growl from the Queen, "Just do what I told you!"

Without another word, the twins flew to help Snotlout and Fishlegs. Hiccup and I watched them for a second, waiting to make sure they could handle the job that was handed to them.

I glanced at the large orange inferno that littered the water's shore. "Do you think Toothless would still be on a boat?"

Hiccup gazed out, squinting his eyes at the brightness the fire cast. "Knowing my dad, more likely than not he's trapped there."

He guided Cress along with the rope, and she gave a subservient squawk before being guided into the fire.

The heat was intense, the sweat on my skin evaporated as soon as it appeared. The heat waves swirled around us, threatening to suffocate me with it's dense tendrils. As much as I tried to point out Toothless' sleek form with my eyes, anything and everything was blotted out my the spots dancing across my vision from the flames' brightness.

Hiccup seemed to be having as hard of a time as I was. He was coughing slightly from the clods of smoke billowing up, and he seemed to be shaking ash out of his eyes every few seconds.

"Do you see him yet?" I screamed over the roar of the flames.

Hiccup let out a frustrated growl, "I wouldn't be able to see the Queen in this chaos!"

I glanced about again, but only succeeded in blinding myself. I shunned away from the light and hid my eyes in Hiccup's unharmed shoulder.

I looked down at the twirling water, the reflections of orange fire swirled with the agitated ultramarine liquid, mixing the opposites into one, almost like nightmares dancing under a clouded night. Fire waltzing with water. Night polkaing with day. Good gathering evil in it's arms in a Icelandic Schottische **(2)**. In the distance, the bright auburn serpents separated from their dark partner, leaving a large patch of untainted liquid that held a boat in the middle. One that housed less of the burning inferno than the other ships did.

My muffled voice reached out to him, "Can you tell which ship is your dad's?"

I felt him shake his head, "I can't make out the colors, they're too damaged-"

Suddenly, I heard a low, mournful, almost howl-like cry from my right side.

I shot up. It almost sounded like that of a trapped animal…

"Hiccup.."

"Yeah I heard it!" he looked about eyes narrowed in an effort to gaze past the flames. Suddenly they lit up, "There!"

I gazed up, and, as if I knew already, set my sights on the vessel that wasn't burning in a frenzy like the others. Sure enough, a black blot with yellow-green irises was stranded in the middle of the wooden contraption.

I almost gasped with relief to see that the friendly dragon was alright, but was suddenly thrust out of my musings by Hiccup, who had scooted higher up on Cress' neck, and pulled my hands to the rope meant to guide her.

He carefully place a hand on my shoulder, maneuvering himself around and behind me. I quickly grasped at what he was going to do and urged my Nadder to lower herself a little.

With a unique nimbleness, Hiccup hopped off of the blue and yellow dragon and onto the slightly burning ship. He turned back to me after he regained his balance on the deck and shouted above the chaos, "Go help the others!"

The sternness in his eyes left no room for argument, and, no matter how much I wanted to stay and make sure the two comrades would get off okay, I knew the other trainees needed my guidance more.

I gave a stiff nod, my mouth set in a grim line, and quickly flew up and out of the amber and scarlet prison.

I coughed out the smoke that had entered my lungs, and rubbed the sting out of my eyes as I pushed Cress forwards towards the large green dragon. I almost panicked when I saw Fishlegs and his Gronkle fall from the sky, as well as Snotlout getting thrown on top of the huge thing! I flew around the front of the dragon, hoping to get her attention on me and away from the boys.

I shouted Fishleg's name in fear when I saw a clawed paw raise to descend on his trapped form. I rushed even faster to them to save my teammate, but as I got there, I caught sight of Lout smashing his hammer into the beast's eyes, saving Fishlegs from a horrid death. I couldn't help but smile with Viking pride.

I almost laughed at his banter, "What's wrong, buddy? Something in your eye?"

Even the Queen's outraged roar did nothing to upset my satisfaction at seeing my friends join our cause. I flew by the raven-haired boy, shouting without thinking, "Yeah! You're the Viking!"

Probably a stupid idea, Astrid…..

However, that seemed to be the end of the rope for the dragon. She let out a deafening snarl, tilting her head to throw off Snotlout. I caught a glimpse of the twins making another round near the dragon, but were almost immediately sent back with three blasts of flame from the creature's jowl. I didn't even want to guess what they had done to tick off the Queen to this extent.

I glanced down to see if Fishlegs had gotten out of the danger zone yet, and, seeing how he was having trouble getting his Gronkle to move, decided to buy him more time.

I flew up and around, moving to where Cress and I were up against the mountain's black rocks, before turning to face the horizon.

"okay Cress, I'm gonna need some fire power. Right here," I touched a point at the back of her neck so she would know where to hit the Queen, "You got it?"

The Nadder narrowed her eyes and gave an affirmative creen before diving down along the leader's back.

I could almost feel the shock wave that ran off the dragon as the blast hit the back of her head, and I sighed in relief when I saw Snotlout holding himself on the beast with a death-grip to one of her horns. The large dragon screeched, whether in pain or anger I couldn't tell, as we flew out of her fangs' range in case she decided she wanted reprisal.

Suddenly, as Cress and I flew over the water's edge, a welcoming and familiar screech split the atmosphere, making my ears tingle with a deep-rooted sense of anxiety that had invaded my head for years.

I looked out to the water, catching the black line that shot up from the ground and straight into the ashen air.

I heard another soft roar from the side and I saw the twins closing in on the battle ground again. I put my hands around my mouth to amplify my warning to them, "He's up! Get Snotlout out of there!"

They nodded in approval, undoubtedly arguing while fulfilling their duty, and I followed them to check up on Fishlegs. As we flew into the giant's maw once more, I noticed that both the blonde Viking and his dragon had made it to a safe distance.

I stayed to make sure the twins got Snotlout out of danger, which they did, and urged Cress to fly out of the battle as well. I gave her a slight nudge, "Come on, girl."

The Nadder flapped a distance of a few meters before I felt something strange. We weren't moving, much less hovering in the air, which I've never seen a dragon do. Alas, the confusion amplified as we suddenly were pulled backwards, a sharp, warm wind grasping us in it's clutches and reeling us back. I immediately regretted looking backwards, my vision filled with an enormous, starving mouth that was encased with dull ivory fangs.

Cress whimpered slightly as she flapped harder and harder, trying with her life to fight off the unnatural current the Queen was creating. It was no use though. We were being sucked in, and I had the choice of either being devoured or falling to my death.

Salvation came at the last minute, in the form of a blue ball of heat that erupted from the clouds, soaring over my head and into the beast's jaw just as she was about to chomp down on my dragon's tail. The wind ceased and the sudden change of direction caused Cress to fall out from under me; my own form separated from her back from the lack of a saddle holding me down.

It was silent for a second, before the air shrieked and my vision switched from the grey, mourning sky to the obsidian rocks below. My stomach flew to my throat, my brain spazzing out of rational thinking. However, I felt the strange sting of irony reach me. I was going to die from falling off a _dragon_. Not from fighting one, not from killing one, but from _falling _from the back of one. If I wasn't so focused on the threat of a broken spine that awaited me, I would've laughed at the absurdity I would've felt a few days ago from such a suggestion.

But where was I? Oh yes, falling to my demise.

I screamed and reached my hands out, a false hope that I could save myself flashing through my limbs. I was getting closer and closer to the hard ground. Twenty feet….ten feet…five….

"Hiccup!" I screamed, the name rolling off my tongue without my consent. As I feel my last few feet, I tensed, waiting for the sting broken bones and shredded consciousness to meet me in reality.

The jerk I felt on my leg at the last moment gave me terrible whiplash, almost ripping my leg out of it's socket. As the harsh snapping sensation subsided, I focused blankly on the disappearing ground. Realization came upon me and I gave a short, nervous laugh.

"Did you get her?" A voice from….below me came. I glanced to me feet, and was met with ebony scales and the sky. I could almost feel the blood rush to my head both from my position and ecstatic relief. A hero coming to the rescue at the last minute, how cliché.

The animal dragging me along looked below, his eyes curiously meeting mine. I couldn't help but muster up the largest smile I could make, and laugh as he 'smiled' back at me. Toothless; he was one of a kind.

The Night Fury flipped me right-side up as we neared the crowd of Vikings along the west side of the island. He dropped me softly on my feet, the dragon giving me a small nudge of comfort, and his rider giving me one last, confident smile before the two friends raced back up to face the ravaging menace in the distance.

Odin, I felt like a part of me was whisked away with them, my heart almost hurting that I couldn't fight alongside them.

But I couldn't, and I wouldn't. This moment was theirs to make. It was their turn to leave fingerprints on the mold of various Viking legends. The boy and his dragon. The two outcasts who tore through centuries of tradition and rules. A hero that would stand on the same pedestal as Beowulf and Gilgamesh **(3)**,and accomplish in one stride what the other men took years to complete. To me, there was no comparison. I'd choose the scrawny, not-so-useless, creative Viking Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III over any other legend in Berk's old fairy tales.

My lips moved softly, loud enough soonly the gods above in Asgard could hear my plea, my urge, my command, "Go,"

Make your mark on Valhalla's door.

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Footnotes:

**1. I don't think Vikings ever discovered elephants, so I switched it out for something Vikings actually believed existed**

**(ok, I actually did a little Viking/North English/Anglo-Saxan research for these things! T****he internet took a long time to cooperate with me, but I figured I should at least try to be authentic with these things!)**

**2. Vikings had a lot of traditional dances, three of them being the Drumming Waltz, the Parisian polka (one of many, many polkas), as well as the ****Icelandic Schottische. And by the description, they look quite fun!**

**3. Beowulf was the hero of the Anglo-Saxon's most famous tale. He was a fierce warrior who defeated the monstrous demon Grendel as well as a dragon who threatened the lives of the people in his kingdom. He died defeating the dragon with one comrade. Gilgamesh was another Anglo-Saxon hero, who was part god and part human. He performed the deed of saving a town from the evil giant Humbaba who lived in the forest by the town.**

**Well, how was it? Worth the wait? (i hope so!)**

**You guys know the drill :) review, fav, alert, whatever floats your boat!**

**~Oliver**


	6. Occupational Hazards

**I feel so proud of myself! I actually finished this chapter in 3 months instead of 5! Yay me! :D**

**Oh btw, you guys ROCKED my socks with all the reviews last chapter! All of you are amazing and beautiful (unless you're a guy, then you're...well guys can be beautiful too ^_^)!**

**Anyways, I know you're anxious to read, here we go! The beginning of the end!...why are you still reading this stupid author's note? Go read already! No, stop reading! Don't not listen to me! Go-ugh, just..read the disclaimer and then the chapter.**

**_Disclaimer: I'll own How To Train Your Dragon when pigs fly. Unfortunately right now the only farm animals with the ability to fly are sheep. Stupid sheep._**

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6. Occupational Hazards

The moment they reached the sky, they weren't just a boy and a dragon anymore; they were a single unit striving for one common goal. They transformed into a jet black arrow, whizzing through the air so fast their form blurred into the background; their battle cry sounded like it could split the heavens with the determination it was laced with. The sound cried out to the monster before us, challenging its authority with the promise of a deadly joust.

The invitation came in the form of a white-hot blast of flame, which embedded itself into the Queen with enough force to knock it off its feet.

The aftershock of the enlarged dragon colliding with solid rock almost brought me to my knees, but my stumble was halted by Ruffnutt, who grabbed on to me to level herself as well.

And then, all was silent.

The dust settled as the Queen hefted its demonic, tattered wings into the air, and lifted itself into the air. The leftover rubble tumbled off the gritty appendages, and stiffly brought the monster into its element. The membranes of her wings shielded the little amount of sunshine that was able to penetrate through the oncoming clouds, black with both smoke and the threat of rain. The shadow ran over our tribe, making the monster looming over us seem even more sinister than before.

With what looked like a hefty breath, the Queen drug herself into the air, her huge body seeming almost alien to the open space. The sight made me want to duck in cover with the fear that her old wings wouldn't be able to keep her body aloft. Her form even seemed to tremble with the unexpected weight that her wings now had to lift.

I moved closer to the edge of the water, wanting to keep a clear view of the heroes and their enemy. Later, out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of my fellow trainees and even some of the adults joining me in the front.

I could barely make out Gobber's mummer to Stoick, "That creature's got a lot of weight to keep aloft. Not so sure if it'll be able to keep itself up for long, don't ya' think?"

Stoick said nothing, his eyes were only laid up on the black blur zipping its way around the island. Their course ran right in front of our brigade, and I smiled at the cheers Hiccup and Toothless received from half of the group. I took the chance and cheered along with them.

Said cheering on was cut short when the after-wind of the Queen blew sea water and dust into our faces. But even that didn't cut the smile off my face.

It only amplified my support for Hiccup, and I brought my hands around my mouth to say it out loud, "HICCUP! You've got this! Don't give up!"

I kept shouting words of encouragement, and I swear, my soul turned ten times brighter when the twins, Snotlout, and Fishlegs came up to me and backed up my cheers.

"Come on, cousin! Kick its butt!" Snotloud shouted.

"Bring that drooling lizard down, Hiccup!" the twins cheered simultaneously.

"Its speed is minus five, Hiccup! You can win!" Fishlegs waved his arms in the air at his support.

My eyes followed their every move as they flittered across the sky, "Hiccup!" _Please, be careful_, "You can do it!" _Odin, keep him safe_, "I believe in you!" _Let him be alright._

My thoughts and words were precariously intertwining at this point, but I didn't care. My thoughts might have turned into shouts, my shouts may have morphed into pleas, and my pleas could have gotten caught in my throat and switched into muttered prayers. I can't remember because there was only one person I was focusing on at the time.

I watched as they switched directions, making a bee line towards the angry clouds that enclosed the Nest; I stood up on the tips of my toes, as if that would bring me up with them. Then, in a blink of an eye, they were swallowed up by the slate grey sanctum. And everything went quiet, the tension in the air suffocated all of us on the ground, the anxiety twirled in my chest, poking me with soft 'what-if's'. And I felt like screaming, just to cut off the nervous silence.

Then, nature's symphony rang to us in an angry cacophony. The high screech of a Night Fury splitting the atmosphere with his wings, the low bass of his blue arsenal being hurled into a solid mass, and the thunderous solo of an enraged demon all rained down on our poor eardrums in an angry thrall.

Lightning shot from Toothless' maw, igniting the darkened sky surrounding them. The heavenly light illuminated the clouds' interiors, and made the silhouetted Queen seem like nothing more than an insignificant bug; her loud roar turned into nothing more than an annoying buzz to us Vikings down below.

The scene the fight unwittingly produced was phenomenal. The son of a regular mortal and the dragon born of lightning and death itself were working together as a single unit against the monster that defined the word 'dangerous'.

My eyes widened in awe as I watched the battle unfold. With each strike I could feel my heart lift higher for the two comrades. The tug at my heartstrings began to feel more and more indescribable, and I unconsciously placed my hand on the skin that covered the organ. I knew the other trainees, who were huddled behind me and gazing up at the grey abyss, their jaws dropped, felt the same way. But still, I don't think anybody else felt as much pride in their heart as I did. The blasts of cyan lightning became more and more frequent, each display hitting its target with pristine accuracy. My face lit up with the blue lights. _They're winning!_

However, the joyous expression melted right off as the smoky sky was ignited by a gigantic scarlet and amber cloud. The flames ate up the grey cover, swallowing it whole and spitting out black smoke higher into the atmosphere. The flames shifted, and I caught a glimpse of a giant green wing finding its way out of the chaos before diving back in.

A roar and screech mingled in the air together and rained down on us harshly. The grey curtains shifted and opened up to reveal a Night Fury flying straight to the ground, the giant dragon close behind him with her jaw filling up with the flammable green gas that all dragons have.

I took a step forward, watching the scene in awe, and gasped as Toothless freefell with his back to the ground and sent his own fire into the Queen's mouth. The gas ignited, catching her throat aflame, and Hiccup steered the Night Fury out of danger's way.

Meanwhile, the queen seemed to realize how close to the ground she was, and made an attempt to slow her decent with her shredded wings. I winced as the singed holes in her membranes seared and started spreading wider from the wind's force against them.

My eyes never left the falling monster as she hit the ground.

I've heard stories of explosions before, but I've never truly experienced one. Sure the blast of a Night Fury can be a little jarring, but it's nothing compared to what's in the stories of travelers. Explosions, so I've heard, make great walls of fire, so hot that the sudden blast turns the world white for a second, and so forceful that even trolls could be knocked off their feet. I don't know how to make them; although, I _have_ heard whispers of using some sort of ground up rock. However, if there's any other way to create an explosion, it's sending a flaming, twenty-ton dragon plummeting into solid rock.

Fire raced up her form as she collided with the ground, throwing up ash and dust around everyone in the process. Every Viking, even Stoick, stumbled at the aftershock, and the only reason I didn't tumble onto my back was the fact that Ruffnutt pushed me forward in an attempt to steady herself. As the air filled up with a thick cloud of ash, I managed one last glimpse at the sky before my vision was obscured. I felt my heart freeze over at the sight of an obsidian dragon falling from the sky.

"No-," I coughed as debris entered my lungs at the shout, and was forced to cover my face with my arms to keep anymore from reaching my nose and eyes. I painstakingly tore my gaze away from the sky, ducking my head down to keep out ash.

The air was thick and hot as the dust settled on the scene, taking what seemed like forever to clear out. Thin, grey flakes of, what I had a feeling was, burnt dragon flesh rained down on us. I let my arms drop to my sides; tiny cuts from flying pieces of rock littered the appendages. Dust fell down into my blonde braid as I picked my head up.

However, I noticed none of this. Nothing mattered except the fact that the Queen was dead. And that Hiccup hadn't shown up yet.

Faintly, I heard Hiccup's name being called by somebody. The shouts corresponded with the cries that echoed inside my head. Not that I could hear it very well over the loud thumping of my blood rushing in my ears.

Then, suddenly, there was one shout that was lower than all the rest. It sounded downcast…defeated. And that scared me enough to start walking through the group of Vikings.

"No, oh gods please don't take him…Odin, not now. Please, don't take him from me now," I could feel my voice cracking as I whispered, something thick and heavy was slowly constricting my throat, and my heart started stinging. I went from a light jog to a full-on run, pushing my way through the mass of bodies, pleading with my might that Hiccup would be standing there, with that sheepish look on his face from the mess he made.

But that was just an empty wish, and it was blown to bits as I finally found my way to the front of the crowd. All my hopes were shattered, and all my fears were realized as I saw the chief of our tribe down on the ground before a still Night Fury. One dragon, and no rider in sight.

I shook my head. _No, no he should still be there_. I felt my eyes burn with their physical form of sorrow. _Dammit, he should be there!_ I wanted to run up there, I wanted to move closer, but my legs weren't listening. My whole body stood still, too overcome with sorrow to make an effort of anything. It started in my head, making my vision fuzzy and my hearing dull, then went to my heart and constricted it slowly, then ended in my stomach where it was so concentrated that it had actually started to hurt. Too soon, the sharp, stinging pain of grief was spread throughout my body, and it was all I could do to keep the saltine water from falling down my cheeks. Because I was a Viking, and Vikings don't cry.

I heard a soft bellow, and saw a green orb appear on the half-dead dragon. I knew I should feel happy that Toothless was still alive, but he looked as heartsick as I felt.

The beautiful dragon looked at Stoick, and listened to the man's despairing words, "I…I'm so sorry."

It didn't take a genius to figure out that he was not only talking to the animal, but to his son as well.

Toothless' tired eyes seemed to widen a little at the statement, and his wings unfolded to reveal…

"Hiccup!" the cry stirred me out of my grief-stricken state. And as I saw Hiccup appear in the arms of the dragon he saved, a small ray of hope flew across the darkness that had consumed my mind.

Stoick took the boy into his arms, not knowing what to do first, then threw off his helmet, casting it aside as if it meant absolutely nothing to him, and pressed an ear into his son's chest. We all waited anxiously, and the sharp prodding in my chest made it hard to breathe as I waited for the Chief to say something, anything.

Finally, he let out a short laugh that sounded more like a held back cry, and voiced loudly, "He's alive! You brought him back alive!"

The crowd erupted into relieved cheers behind us, and I let out the breath I was holding, the flow of air wavering slightly at the intense amount of relief I felt at the one statement. I had to hold my hands over my mouth to hold back the large wave of laughter I wanted to release at the words. I allowed myself a large smile. _He's alright_! I kept repeating the thought over and over in my head, and as I did, the large bubble of relief and happiness in my stomach kept on growing bigger and bigger.

Our burly chief gently placed a hand on Toothless, eyeing the dragon with utter gratefulness. The black dragon relaxed, looking somewhat pleased with himself.

"Thank you," the look in Stoick's eyes was indescribable as he thanked the dragon, "for saving my son."

Gobber had approached the man carefully, and looked down at Hiccup with a conspicuous glance. The cheers had calmed down enough for me to hear his frank correction, "Well, ya know, most of 'im."

My smile instantly vanished.

"'Most of him'?" I repeated the words to myself, and my brows nit with confusion. What did he mean by that?

I started to make my way towards the foursome, shrugging off the hand that caught my elbow to hold me back. Whoever it was didn't protest, but I could feel Snotlout coming up close behind me, he kept muttering lowly to himself. I only caught a few words that sounded like, "Can't be…wrong…Hiccup…too tough," It was hard having a family member die right before your eyes. And no matter how indifferent Snotlout acted, I knew he was worried about his relative. I looked back and saw his pale complexion as we trotted over to the three Vikings and the Night Fury, but I couldn't blame him. After all, he had thought his only cousin was dead a few minutes ago; besides, I probably looked no different.

We reached the others shortly, and I kneeled down onto my knees to get closer to Hiccup when I reached the dragon. Toothless perked up a little at the sight of us, his tail giving a halfhearted wave as he caught my eye, but he made no move to leave his rider's side

My gaze followed his, but I wish it hadn't when I saw what Gobber was talking about. In contrast to his pale skin, the black and red mess that was Hiccup's left leg stuck out like a bonfire in the middle of the sea.

My hand went to my mouth as I let out a soft whimper; I quickly turned away from Hiccup's still form, but it was too late. The image had burned itself into my brain. Flesh wounds weren't anything new to me, despite how young I was. We're Vikings, it's an occupational hazard. New scars were something to be congratulated, pain came on a daily basis to us, myself included. This was different though. I'm not sure how it was, but this injury disturbed me. It pulled at my heart, and I wished for nothing more than to have my own leg burned instead of Hiccup's. Funny, how the only time my hard exterior exchanged for a weak constitution was when Hiccup was hurt.

Needing something besides the gruesome image in my mind, I scrutinized Hiccup's face instead. He would've looked like he was asleep if not for the slight scrunch of his eyebrows. I vaguely wondered of people could feel pain in unconsciousness. I prayed that they couldn't.

By this time, Stoick had called a healer to the scene. I heard snippets of their conversation, mostly that they didn't have the equipment they needed to even numb the vesication, much less treat it. I almost sent the two doctors a glare. They were probably so anxious to kill dragons that they forgot all the medical supplies they'd need to treat their fellow Vikings at the village. My head turned to face the damaged ships in the distance, and I immediately felt guilty of my last acquisition. Of course all the bandages and medicine would've been burned to smithereens with the ships that kept them.

Fishlegs and the twins were behind me now, and I heard their sharp intakes of breath, which let me know that they had seen his leg as well.

I tried to ignore the urge to look again because I knew I'd regret it, and instead listened to the healer speak with Stoick.

"Either way, it wouldn't matter. There's no way to get back home without the ships."

"Well find a way," Stoick's voice was low and gravely, like he'd aged ten years, "Find what's left of the ships and make a raft. Some of the others will have to stay on the island and we'll send another boat to fetch them once we get there."

Gobber shook his head exasperatedly, "Can't do that. It would take at least two days with what we 'ave."

Our Chief stared at his son and mumbled lowly, "There must be another way."

"Uh….well," all of us turned towards Fishlegs, who stood on the spot nervously, "W-We could always…fly."

"_Fly_?" the healer spit out, her voice high with disbelief, "On a _dragon_? That is the most…"

"Brilliant idea, Fishlegs," Stoick said to the large teen, crows-feet appearing at the corners of his eyes as he gave the blonde a small smile.

The look the healer gave Stoick clearly showed that she was questioning her leader's sanity, "Wha-…but Sir, they are dangerous! They-"

"I will not hear of it Tyra," Stoick cut in before I had the chance to defend the creatures, "It was a dragon who saved my son and us as well, and that's all I need. If that doesn't convince ya we can trust them, then there's nothin' else I can say. You may stay if you wish. I will send a boat to fetch you from here as soon as I reach Berk. Now, if you will please wrap Hiccup's injury as best you can."

The healer, Tyra, opened her mouth to object, but seemed to think better of it and waved for Stoick to follow her instead.

This, of course, lead to Hiccup being torn away from my proximity. I reached out instinctively to keep him at my side, but only came up with air. Toothless also gave a frantic cry, springing up onto shaky legs to follow his rider. I turned and ran in front of the dragon, "No, Toothless, it's alright. They're going to take care of him."

The Night Fury tried to pass by me, sweeping side to side only to have me block his way. With ears pinned back to his head, he gave a hollow roar at me. It wasn't threatening no matter how ferocious he meant it to be, but it sounded more like a plea than anything else.

I walked up to the panicked dragon, and put my arms around his neck, rubbing the scratched scales to keep him from startling the adults. I let go after a minute or so. The dark dragon had calmed down but was, in no way, happy with the situation.

Stoick had stood, watching the dragon, but not out of fear. The look that was on his face when he addressed us was understanding and sad, "Why don't you five try to find some dragons willing to take us home? I'm sure whatever he taught you, you can teach to the others."

I cast one last glimpse at the limp boy in his arms, and nodded forlornly. Stoick lowered his head slightly in silent thanks, before following the shrewd healer towards the boats.

Gobber sighed and dusted off his pants, "You younglings better help me with the dragons. It's time for ya to teach me somethin' for a change."

I sighed and started to follow the him, the rest of the trainees doing the same, but a sad growl to my left caught my attention.

"But Gobber, what do we do about Toothless? I won't leave him here all alone." I motioned towards the stressed creature, watching as he gazed off to where they took his best friend. He gave a soft whine, which led me to give him a reassuring pat on the neck.

The old Viking sighed, and let his eyes trail over the dragon. He put a hand to his chin in thought and finally said, "I think I got a good enough look at that contraption my apprentice made. With the materials here I can make a…crude replica. But it should be enough to get ya back home. Check out over there for any pieces that might'a come off. I'm goin' to go tell the others our plan, the other trainees will help 'em, and then I'll head down to the boats to scavenge some materials. Do ya understand, Astrid?"

I nodded fervently, and raced towards what was left of the charred dragon. But not before giving the grieving dragon a long scratch.

"Stay here boy, I'll be right back, and then we'll fix up your tail so you can stay near Hiccup."

I sighed and started to walk towards the wreckage, but stopped when I heard the rocky ground shuffle behind me. Toothless' green eyes were still trained at the place where Hiccup had been taken, but was content enough to follow me as well.

I gave a soft smile, and rubbed the space between his wings when he caught up to me before continuing on with my search.

After about ten minutes, I had, what I presumed was, the metal skeleton of Toothless' tailfin in my hands. The hot, humid air from the middle of the mountain seeped out around the island, and the unusual temperature had caused a thin sheet of sweat to flash across my skin. The salty perspiration was uncomfortable and made my bangs stick to my forehead, but whenever I made to wipe it off the blackened dust and soot that had clung to my hands during my search would smear off on my face.

As I made my way back, Toothless still at my side, I caught glimpses of Fishlegs, Snotlout, and the twins helping half of the adults onto dragons. My spirits were downcast at the sight of the other half of the group standing away, eyeing the creatures wearily.

I narrowed my eyes at the sight, and Toothless gave a loud snort from beside me, having seen the same thing.

"You got that right," I told him.

"Well, ya can't really blame them can ya?" I turned to see Gobber walking up beside us, in his arms a hammer and lots of strips of thick fabric, which I figured was from one of the boats' sails, "After all, their whole lives has been about killin' the beasties. It's a tradition that's generations old."

I scoffed, "Hang tradition."

"Aw, now Astrid, don't be like that. Those old trolls will come around eventually, you'll see."

I smiled in thanks to the gruff teacher, and gave him the metal brace for the tailfin. I stood still and watched as he went to work on Toothless' saddle. He used the hammer to straighten out the bits of bent metal, and used the sail strips to tie the invention to the dragon. He'd also cut up a strip of leather that he'd salvaged from one boat and made it into another tailfin.

After he was done, he stood back to look at his handy work. Seeming content with it, he sighed and said, "Well it's patchy, but it'll probably be strong enough to get you two back home."

After seeing me nod, he started to walk over to the Vikings who had chosen to ride dragons to Berk, but was stopped by my question, "Gobber, is…will Hiccup be alright?"

The blacksmith turned towards me with a questioning look.

"I mean, his leg will heal…right?" I explained further.

Gobber sighed, and ran a hand over his long mustache and told me before leaving, "Hard to tell right now Astrid. But you're a smart girl, and I won't lie to ya. I'll tell ya this: the longer we take getting to Berk, the worse his condition will become."

I swallowed the lump that had lodged itself in my throat. He was right, I knew the answer to my own question. The truth of the matter was that I didn't want to accept it. Burns are bad injuries. While lacerations could be sewn up and broken bones were able to be mended, burns leave a wide opportunity for infections, not to mention that they took long to heal.

I shuddered as the answer sang out in my head. Best case scenario: Hiccup will lose that leg.

I had known right after seeing it for the first time that there was no way the appendage could be saved. It was a hopeless case, and would cause Hiccup more pain to keep it attached than not.

Still, it did nothing to calm down the hurt I was feeling. I ran my hands down my face, and breathed in a shaky breath. I didn't let any tears fall though. I was a Viking, and Vikings don't cry. The longer we're on this desolate island, the more deadly it became for Hiccup. If it was one thing the boy was known for was the fact that he took pain well, he was very tolerant of it, however I wasn't sure how far that limit reached. I was sure Stoick was contemplating that as well.

This is why it didn't surprise me when I saw him on top of a Nightmare after I had gained enough control on my emotions to join the group of dragon riders.

In his grasp was Hiccup, and I could see Toothless edge closer to the Nightmare, sniffing the air around him.

I looked around and saw that the others had managed to find a fair amount of dragons, as well as some charred fish that had washed up onshore.

Gobber had managed to climb up onto a Nadder as well, and I faintly wondered where Cress was before turning towards Toothless.

"Alright Toothy, now I know you won't like this, but if you want to follow Hiccup, I'm going to have to ride you, ok?"

The dragon started to reject the idea at first, shuffling towards the russet-haired boy a little more, but seemed to understand that his rider wouldn't be well enough to bring him back to Berk anytime soon.

The dragon gave in and lowered closer to the ground to accompany for my lower height. I smiled and climbed into the saddle. I patted his head, "It's only for a little while, I promise."

Suddenly, before we knew it, the dragons were taking off for Berk, and I finally got a chance to comprehend the situation. I was going to have to fly Toothless.

"Crap."

The dragon gave me a confused glance, but crouched down to jump into the air anyway. I had just enough time to get my foot into the stirrup and place it in the first position before he made an attempt to fly.

Unfortunately, the temporary fixations for the tail didn't allow such rough moves, and it took a running start for the dragon to get enough lift to go airborne.

Flying in the air was tricky, especially when going past the rock pillars that surrounded the Nest.

I tried fiercely to remember the instructions Hiccup told me on the way there. "Okay, right is position…three, no four!"

I was glad that we started behind the others, because they didn't see me steer the dragon into a few rocks. Toothless gave a defiant roar at each, and tried to nip me the third time.

"Hey, I know I'm doing it wrong you useless lizard! I'm not Hiccup!" The dragon snorted.

Still, after the third collision the instructions came back to my memory, and I almost smiled as I imagined Hiccup trying to figure out how to use the complicated invention. With the Night Fury's speed and agility, we caught up to the others fairly quickly, and Toothless gave me hints with his head as to where he wanted to go. I let him lead and soon I found us right above the Monstrous Nightmare that carried Hiccup.

I looked around and also saw the rest of the teens on dragons of their own. I even caught sight of Cress, recognizing the yellow marking on her blue scales, and almost fell off of Toothless when I saw who she was carrying.

With her doubts chased from her mind, Mom was there, and I didn't know whether to be proud of her or worried that she didn't know what she was doing.

Either way, I knew that a deep conversation with her loomed on the horizon, and that was fine with me.

We flew for what seemed like forever, until the green mountains of Berk came up. I looked down at Hiccup again, and cringed at the bandages around his leg, which was spotted dark red in many places.

Death was close to him, hovering and getting closer with each passing second. The fact that he hadn't awoken at all in the past hour did bode well, and I remembered the emptiness I felt when I didn't see him standing next to Toothless on the island.

I never wanted to feel like that again, and I was going to make sure I wouldn't.

I was too young to save my father.

This time, I'm going to do anything and everything possible to make sure I don't lose another person I love.

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**DuhDuh...Duhhhhhn!**

**Yes folks we are here! The filling up of that stupid time-frame they cut out of the movie! Hurrah!**

**And sadly, the next chapter will be the last of _To Change a State of Mind_, but it will be worth it (hopefully) :) Trust me (if you dare)!**

**Hope you enjoyed chapter 6! Review, Alert, Fave, you know the drill ;)**

**~Oliver**


	7. All We Needed

**Nope, dear readers, your eyes do not deceive you! The final Chapter is HERE! Yes, at the end of endless hours armed with only a Vanilla Coke, my 30 Seconds to Mars CDs, and my HTTYD movie (and Gift of the Night Fury, courtesy of my dad) as inspiration boosters, I have produced this emotional chapter **

**Even though it took long to get out, I really think this is one of my favorite chapters in here. If not first favorite, then second. So if **_**I**_** enjoy it I'm sure all of you will too. Have fun!**

_**Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD, that is…unless I was, hypothetically, able to come up with an amazing plan to steal it! Then I'll be able to join the Evil League of Evil! What a crazy, random happen-stance that would be! [lol Dr. Horrible references, if you don't understand than you're missing out on an awesome movie!]**_

* * *

7. All We Needed

The stormy clouds reached out past the Nest, and expanded across the sky all the way to Berk. It was amazing that one storm could take up such a large area of the earth in one place, and I was starting to worry when I heard thunder rumble in the distance. Judging by the crisp breezes that flitted across us down on the ground, a downpour was meant to cascade across our tiny island at any moment. Flashes of white lightning started to hop across the storm clouds, and I was amply reminded of the battle that happened not half an hour ago. It was almost mesmerizing as the light danced across the houses of Berk, flinging pristine light onto the earth below.

I was waking swiftly across the cobblestone roads of the village, Toothless striding not three steps behind me. Stoick, with Hiccup still in his arms, and Gobber were walking a few feet in front of me, their heads were put together, and they were talking in soft voices. A lot of the other Vikings eyed them with curiosity and pity, but not many made to follow the trio. They knew what the two elder Vikings were preparing to go do, and none had the heart to follow except for a few young dragon trainees and a worried Night Fury.

They hurried through the village, heading back towards Hiccup's house. Snotlout's father, at one point, walked up to Stoick and discussed something with him, but the frequently occurring thunder drowned out his words.

As we neared the Haddock household, I glanced behind me and, not to much surprise, found that Snotlout, the twins, and Fishlegs had disappeared. Their parents had probably found them shortly after they touched down on land. I faintly wondered if my mother was looking for me as I determinedly followed Gobber and Stoick to the house. We reached the door quickly, entering the threshold just as a light spray of rain started to drip out of the sky.

I was sure both adults knew I was there, as well as the anxious Night Fury who was walking beside me.

As soon as they got inside, Gobber grabbed a blanket that lay in the corner and placed it on the kitchen table. Stoick set his son down on it and, with a worried glance at his boy, began working on starting a flame in the fireplace.

I started to go over to help him, but Gobber thrust a section of rope into my hands. Before I could even give him a questioning glance, Gobber stated, "Cut off the blood flow, Astrid."

I stared at the rope, wondering why Gobber was giving me instructions; after all, he wasn't a healer in any sense of the word. In fact, he's probably the opposite of one. However, I remembered the fact that the blonde blacksmith had lost both a leg _and_ an arm. I guess he had picked up on how the amputation process worked after his second accident.

I shook my head sharply; I couldn't waste time thinking on such trivial things. I slipped the thin rope under the dragon rider's leg, trying with all my might not to lift the appendage too high in fear of hurting him. I tied the binding tightly just under his knee, trying to ignore the warm, crimson substance that found its way onto my hands during the process. By the time I was done, my hands were shaking, mostly because of the slightly pained noises I heard coming from the unconscious boy next to me.

Then I heard a quiet muttered sound and I froze in terror, "'oothless?"

I froze at his voice and alarms started blaring in my head. This was _not_ good. If it had been any other time that Hiccup regained consciousness, I would've considered it a blessing, but right before he was about to have his leg sawed off was not one of those times.

I quickly glanced at Hiccup, whose eyes were halfway open and looking at his dragon curiously. I leaned away from his leg and faced him, trying to make my voice as calm and commanding as possible in the situation. I laid a hand on his head, "Hiccup, go back to sleep."

His half-lidded eyes turned away from the dragon near his head to me, but he looked pained and confused, "Astrid? Why-"

His sentence was cut off as he groaned in pain, and his body withered as Gobber placed a hand on his leg, holding the limb down. The blacksmith immediately removed his hand at his sound though, and glanced worriedly at the boy. Stoick was at his son's side as soon as the sound left him. He placed a large hand on Hiccup's sweat drenched forehead, "Son?"

Hiccup grit his teeth, eyes squeezed shut, "Ugh, it burns…"

Stoick physically winced at his comment, "I know, we're going to make it go away. You've got to be strong for your father, Hiccup."

Hiccup nodded slightly, but I couldn't tell if he understood what Stoick had asked of him or not. Stoick patted his son's head, and said gently, "Good, now do as Astrid says and go back to sleep."

Almost as if he had been waiting for permission, Hiccup lost consciousness again. His expression smoothed out slightly, and his breathing became a little less ragged. I sighed in relief; the last thing I wanted was for Gobber to saw through his leg while he was awake.

"Astrid," I looked at Gobber, who had a pained expression on his face.

"What?"

He didn't sugar-coat his next sentence, and ordered, "You and the dragon have to leave now."

I froze. What did he say? My eyes widened considerably, and I shook my head furiously, "Wha- No! No, we're staying and helping you!"

Gobber decided not to comment on the fact that Toothless couldn't do anything, and he took my shoulders in his hands, "Astrid, think about this. What's the Night Fury gonna do when he sees us," he paused, swallowing before finishing the sentence, "removing his owner's leg?"

I knew exactly what would happen. Toothless would attack at the sight, prepared to protect his best friend to the death. But the thought of leaving upset me; I didn't want to leave Hiccup alone.

"But…Hiccup…"

"I know, I know. He'll be alright, we'll take care of him, I promise. But ya know Hiccup wouldn't want the dra-Toothless to accidentally hurt anybody. When he's allowed visitors, I'll be sure to alert you and the other trainees first thing. A'right?"

I looked back at Hiccup, hesitating. I knew Gobber was right…but it didn't make leaving any easier on my nerves. I watched as Toothless somberly sniffed at his rider, nosing him slightly in hopes that he'd awaken again.

I took a shaky breath and turned towards the obsidian dragon. I grasped at one of the undamaged saddle straps, "Come on, Toothless. We have to go outside."

The dragon paid no heed to my words, and stood still, his eyes aimed on his best friend. I really didn't want to have to drag Toothless outside and chances were I wasn't strong enough to accomplish such a feat, but I tightened my grip on his tattered saddle anyway.

"I know you're scared, I am too," the Night Fury twitched his fin-like ear, and glanced back at me, "but we can't do anything right now. There's nothing we can do to help him.

I winced inwardly at that last sentence, feeling ashamed at my useless, "We have to trust that he'll be alright."

I tugged on his saddle a little, taking a step towards the door, and hoping that the dragon would come with me without much difficulty. However, Toothless stood rigid and whimpered slightly, possibly debating whether or not it was safe to leave his beloved rider at the hands of the villagers, who've so often tried to harm them both.

In one last attempt to get him to come quietly, I started stroking the scales along his back and sides, "We don't have to go too far, I promise. Just outside the door."

I don't know if the dragon understood a single word I said or not, or maybe if the poor creature was in some form of shock, but he hesitantly decided it was best to follow me outside.

It was definitely raining outside now, but the veiled sunlight was still able to make its way through the thick clouds enough for me to be able to see my surroundings. As soon as Toothless joined me in the cold rain, I turned back to close the door, and tried not to notice the light of the torch glittering off the slick, metal saw Gobber reached to grab off out of the weapon stack in the corner. I slammed the door shut so I wouldn't see anything else.

I didn't try to pull the pitiful Night Fury off the stone steps that lead to the house, for I knew it was futile. Besides, I promised him we'd only go outside the door, and I wasn't about to break that promise.

If was a few minutes before we heard anything, but by the time the screaming started I wished for nothing but silence again.

I was convinced as soon as I heard the shouts of agony that there was no worse torture for me than just sitting here listening to it. A large part of me wanted to run home, to cover my head under my pillow and curl up so I wouldn't have to listen anymore, but the other part that had me loyally staying close to Hiccup and Toothless overpowered the first feeling. The first screams almost sent Toothless into a frenzy, with him scratching at the door and stone walls, trying to get inside with what energy he had left. I eventually managed to calm him down slightly, but it took a lot of comforting words and scratches along his neck to get him to stop lunging at the house. Now he just laid across the doorway, ears pinned back as far as they could go, his eyes narrowed at the ground. I sat next to him, my back against his wings, and I could feel every flinch the obsidian dragon made.

I wasn't much better. Sometime after getting Toothless to relax as much as he could, I had covered my ears with my hands, and laid my head on my knees. I wanted it to stop. The sounds still slipped through my fingers and into my brain, burning it into my memory so it would play over and over again until I didn't know which screams were real and which were from my imagination. I chose to focus on the rain instead. The way it stung slightly as it hit my skin, which was now slick with water after it had washed away all the dust and ash and blood from my pale skin. The way it was ice cold, and even though I focused on it I knew that the shivers that flew through me weren't from the temperature. The way the clear water fell onto my skin and became clouded with filth as it dripped off of me. I had to focus on it all, and then maybe I could be able to drown out the sounds coming from inside the house. I had taken out my hair tie earlier so the grittiness would disappear a well, but right now it just felt like wet ash had sunk in between my dirtied locks.

As a Viking, I wasn't really one to be excited about baths, even though I'm sure I loved them more than most of the other people on the island did. But now I couldn't be more thankful for the rinse, no matter how freezing it was. I wanted to erase all evidence of this battle, I wanted it to heal the pain that stung with ever scream I heard come from the boy inside.

It felt like hours before there was silence again, although I was sure it had only been about thirty minutes or so. I sat on the steps, soaked to the bone and cold, but I made no move to leave.

"Astrid?"

My head slowly lifted from my knees so I could see who'd spoken my name, and I was kind of surprised to see Mom and Cress in front of me. In fact, Cress had her wing lifted, sheltering my mother from being bombarded by raindrops, and my surprise at the sight almost made me forget what had happened in the house behind me. Almost.

"Mom?" my eyes shifted between her and my dragon, confusedly, "What-"

She gave a sad smile, and waked closer to us until she was right in front of me, Cress following her the whole way. She held out a hand to help me up, and the smile morphed into a frown, "I can explain in the morning. But, for right now, I believe I owe my daughter an apology. I'm sorry I didn't listen to ya, sweetheart. So sorry."

My eyes widened at the confession, never in my life had I heard that come from my mother, at least not with such seriousness. The exhaustion and held in emotion from the past few hours hit with full force, and I suddenly felt the strong need to go back home. I jumped up and threw my arms around Mom. She may be coarse and strict at times and she may have the strength to slay dozens dragons in a single raid, but she was still my mother and I don't know what I'd do without her.

I felt like a child again as I nodded at her apology, letting her know I forgave her.

She patted me on the head, and I felt very, very tired. So much so that I almost didn't hear her exclamation, "Dear Thor, child, you are soaked to the bone! Come on home, I'll make ya some nice, warm stew and then ya can go to sleep."

I nodded again, and we started to walk back home. My heartstrings tugged sharply at the fact that I was leaving Hiccup's side, but told that he was in the good hands of his father and Gobber. I believed it enough to let Mom drag me back home.

When we reached the bottom of the hill that Hiccup's house was perched on, I remembered Toothless and immediately turned around to call for him. However, I just watched through the rain as the door opened to reveal Stoick's pale face. He stood in the doorway for a few minutes, seeming to contemplate something, before gesturing to the dragon to come inside.

I couldn't help but smile slightly as the drenched Night Fury made his way into the Chief's home.

I shot up from my position in my bed for what seemed like the tenth time that night. I slapped my shaking hands over my mouth to keep in the scream of fear that had risen in my throat sometime during the night. I was breathing hard and my heart fluttered hard and quick, like it was trying to burst out of my chest. I sat in bed in that position for a few minutes, shaking from more than just the chilly, dawn air that had seeped into my room.

After my heart had calmed and the ringing in my ears stopped, I slammed a fist into the covers of my bed. Gods I hated that dream. I've only had it for the past two nights but I had just about torn my hair out with the false scare it gave me. It didn't sound horrible, I've had worse dreams, but it somehow dug deep into me and made me feel like I was losing everything I held close to my heart.

It always started the same, with darkened skies that housed cyan lightning. However, I was never able to see anything else. I would just stare out in the darkness until I tried to move. I would take a step, raise my hand, it didn't matter what I did, but when I moved the area around would always suddenly be engulfed by bright flames. They would circle around me. I'd hear the fire's crackle, the roar of a monster, a scream of pain. I would call out. Sometimes I'd ask for help, other time's I'd shout names of people I felt were in trouble. I'd call for Mom and the trainees and sometimes even Dad, but I called for Hiccup the most. Even if I didn't call for him, his name would always appear in my head. I would stop shouting long enough to see green skin and jagged, sharp teeth come at me, and that's when I would wake up.

Every single time.

It didn't take a genius to figure out how what the nightmares came from, but I didn't know what to do to keep them away at night. I tried various methods of trying to go into a dreamless sleep, and had even asked Mother if she had anything to keep them away, but no such solution had been found yet.

I looked outside the window that was in my room, and judged the time of day by the number of colors receding form the horizon, leaving only blue. I figured that now was as good of a time as any to get out of bed, and set out to put on a fresh change of clothes.

I then proceeded to go outside and check up on Cress, who was extremely happy to see me. Mom had told me that she didn't know the Nadder was mine when she rode from the Nest; she just found the closest dragon and hopped on it to get back to Berk. Of course, once the Nadder let her off at my house, she'd caught my scent and stuck around, no matter how much shooing Mom did.

When she set out to find me in the rain, Cress had followed her, and mom seemed to realize just how smart and peaceful dragons could be, and allowed my dragon to follow her. Mom had fed her yesterday, and became quite fond of Cress. I guess seeing her daughter and her friends flying through the sky and saving everyone's lives changed her idea of what dragons really were. Not that I'm complaining.

I quickly gave Cress some fish that Mom had bought from one of her friends who had stayed on the island during the attack on the Nest and pet her for a few minutes. Then, as I was leaving the backyard, I heard my mom calling me from in the kitchen and I went back inside.

I found her roasting some mutton above the fireplace, whistling to herself.

"Yeah, Mom?" I asked.

She sent me a sharp look and pointed a finger at the table next to me, "Ya didn't eat or drink anything yesterday! Ya better at least have something in your stomach before ya leave! If I find that glass on the table full when I turn around, you're not goin' anywhere."

I glanced at the wooden cup siting on the table. I hadn't really had anything close to an appetite since the attack, but I knew Mom was worried about me. To make her happy, I quickly gulped down the buttermilk that was inside the mug, "I'm done. Going out now."

It wasn't so much of a demand rather than a question, and I smiled when Mom nodded in approval, "Alright, don't stay too late."

Mother knew what I meant when I said 'going out'. She knew I wasn't going to go find Ruffnutt and have a spar. She knew I wasn't going to go in the woods to hunt down a few birds for lunch. No, it was no secret that I was going over to visit the one person I wanted to see awake right now. The only problem was that Hiccup hadn't regained consciousness again since his leg was amputated.

The dirt path I took to his house was still a little damp from the downpour two days ago, and the sticky mud clung onto the underside of my boots. However, the sun was out and shining brilliantly today, a rare thing for Berk, and I slowed my stride a little bit do soak up some of its warm rays.

I took the shortest route to Hiccup's house, just like the ones before. It was a back road behind the houses instead of the main street in front, and usually nobody waked along it. I eyed the randomly scattered Terrible Terrors that were perched on houses, fences, and barrels along my walk. I'd gotten used to seeing them over the past two days, and a few of them recognized me as well. Today a dark red one, which I nicknamed Hazzard, seemed to recognize me and perched himself on my shoulder, chattering in my ear and tugging at my hair while I walked.

"Well you're chatty today, aren't you?" I reached up next to me to pet the spikes along his back, and giggled when he leaned into my touch. If there's one thing I've come to learn about dragons, is that they acted a lot like cats. Well, except for the Nadders who seem to resemble birds, and Gronkles, who unsurprisingly take after the cows Mrs. Kelda keeps on the outskirts of the village.

I turned a corner on the small path that would take me to Hiccup's house, when I heard a strange noise. Hazzard paused, letting out a tiny whimper; he suddenly flew off my shoulder, ran down the path, and hid behind a crate. I watched him, my confusion growing stronger at his unnatural behavior. I started to backtrack and see if he was alright, but I heard a very familiar roar coming from in front of me.

"Toothless?"

Of course it was the Night Fury, I don't think I could ever erase that dragon's roar from my mind. I suddenly felt my gut twist as a horrid though came up. _What if something happened to Hiccup?_ That one thought urged me to start sprinting towards the Chief's house. I found myself growing more worried as I got closer, and started to hear yelling, men and women yelling to be more precise, and as the house came into my line of sight I learned that I was right. Standing in front of the front door of Hiccups house was, in lack of another word, a mob. And in the front, standing protectively before the threshold was Toothless, who looked like he'd rather be anywhere else at the moment.

The older Vikings, were surrounding him with weapons and buckets of water (to put out any fire he made I presume), trying to get the dragon away from the house. Scared of what the villagers might do, I ran up to the steps, pushing my way through angry adults until I was right in front of Toothless, and I was surprised to find the poor dragon shaking slightly at the mass in front of him.

He almost took a swipe at me, thinking I was one of the villagers, but held back at hearing my voice.

"Toothless, whoa, calm down. Go back inside. I'll handle this," He grumbled, I think in thanks, and swiftly went back in through a window near the door that I'd never noticed before (which, mind you, suspiciously had blackened soot lining the stone around it). Once I was sure he was inside and safe, I turned to the group of Vikings before me.

"What is your problem?" I shouted, silencing their angry cries at the dragon's escape. "He's Hiccup's dragon! If it wasn't for him you all would be dead!"

"No!" one Villager cried out. I deduced that he had just gotten back from off the island, seeing how his brown beard was covered in black soot and he was still wearing his armor. "It's because of tha' monster tha' we were attacked in the first place! If tha' boy 'ad never found him, we woulda never gone to that gods-forsaken island at all!"

There was a chorus of 'yeah!'s and cheers at his accusation, which only added to the anger I was feeling towards the group. I childishly stomped my foot at him, how could someone be so cruel? How could they have forgotten what had happened those few days ago? Did they not see Toothless and Hiccup save them? They defeated the Green Death for Odin's sake, and this is how the village was going to repay the chief's son? Oh no, not while I was standing between them.

"Toothless and Hiccup killed the Green Death! They stopped the war between dragons and Vikings; they have not hurt you. You should be on your knees giving thanks to them rather than threatening to kill them!"

"You think this hasn't harmed us? Look around! There are dragons all over Berk, and no one's fighting 'em. Many people were injured at the Nest, and now those monsters have been brought back to Berk. What if they hurt us, what if they steal our food again? I'm goin' to stop this before it starts, before anyone else gets hurt!" he raised his axe, and the rest cheered in agreement. Gods I could've punched that guy right there. I didn't understand how somebody could be so blind, even when a good thing has been placed right in front of them. The elder man took a step towards the door, "Move outta the way lass, this is for the good of the village. Let the adults handle this. This doesn't involve you kids."

I almost snarled at him; how dare he say that we're not a part of this. This man acted like he knew everything and, judging from the crowd's reaction, the others felt the same, and I couldn't stand it. What did he know about my life, or Hiccups for that matter? That last sentence crossed into dangerous Astrid territory, and I drew my axe from my belt and held it in front of me.

I sent a growl their way, planting my feet firmly against the stone steps, "If any of you want to get at that dragon inside, you're going to kill me first."

"Us too," the voice that come from behind startled me, and I looked back to see Snotlout, the twins, and Fishlegs standing at the door, weapons drawn and glares on their faces.

That caused the crowd to pause, but I could tell they still wanted in to get to Toothless. I was even starting to believe they wanted to get at Hiccup as well, with the way the adults starting saying 'they' and 'them' when indicating the friends inside the house. Have they gone insane? A full-blown argument had started up not far behind, but, before a fight started, the gods sent in an intervention.

"What in Thor's name is going on here?" a shrill voice called out above the jumbled mass of threats and insults that came from both my party and the other.

If there wasn't a crowd of angry Vikings separating me from my mom, I would've hugged her to death. By the way the adults immediately shut up, anybody could tell that Mom was regarded almost as highly as Stoick amongst the villagers.

When nobody spoke up in response, she put on a frightening glare, "Is nobody goin' to answer my question?"

There seemed to be a shudder throughout the crowd at her stone cold voice. It was Snotlout, seemingly ticked off at the adults trying to get at his cousin, who spoke up, "They're trying to get Toothless Mrs. Eydis. They're saying it's his fault all the other dragons are here."

I could've sworn Mother scoffed at the statement, but it was too low for me to hear. She looked over at us on the steps and said, "It's alright youngens, I'll take care of this from here."

Tuffnutt started to complain, "But.."

Mother waved him off, "I can handle it Mr. Thorston, now go on home."

Shocked by being spoken to as if he were an adult rather than a teen, Tuffnutt backed off, dragging his sister along with him. Fishlegs and Snotlout hesitantly followed, both giving the crowd an angry glance (and you _know_ Fishlegs is mad when he glares).

I was left in the doorway, my axe still tightly held in my grip. Meeting my mom's eyes, I reached a hand out to open the door to the Haddock household. She gave me a nod and I pulled the door open to step inside.

I heard one person from the group shout, "Eydis you must understand our views, more than those kids do."

"They act a hulleva lot more like adults than you do! Just because Stoick is back at the Nest gatherin' the others doesn't mean…" I shut the door behind me, the growing scolding come from a, now very angry Hofferson, being muffled behind the think wood.

I stood in the same spot at first, my fists clenched at my sides. I almost couldn't believe my ears. How could the world be so blind, so closed-minded? So much so that they would go against Stoick's orders and try to kill the now-peaceful dragons around us. The thought made me sick to my stomach. If they didn't have trust in their own village, then how have they lived in Berk their whole lives?

I looked at Hiccup's form, still motionless in the bed. Did the adults want to kill him too? For bringing them into this mess? I suddenly felt really scared, and was drawn to the lone chair that stood at Hiccup's bedside. I sat and placed my elbows against the soft mattress, reflexively reached to grasp his warm hand in mine. How could I keep my promise to protect him when half of the village was against me?

Something caught in my throat, and I gripped the boy's hand tighter. I guess I never realized how the Vikings of Berk, who worked together so often and helped another without a second thought, could be turned into barbarians so quickly. I started inwardly raging at the adults, who apparently couldn't take their eyes from the past long enough to see the miracle right in front of them. I never believed that my own village would let me down, but they seemed to be doing that a lot recently. And, to think, if it wasn't for that idiot lying in bed and his wild lizard I wouldn't have ever noticed their betrayal.

I stared at Hiccup's face, which was still extremely pale, and watched his shallow breathing. I sighed and leaned my forehead against his hand, which was clasped in both of mine. I never truly believed Hiccup was weak. Sure, he was on the skinny side and he couldn't keep up with the rest of us sometimes, but he was never weak. He's always been strong mentally at least. If he couldn't lift something, he'd create a contraption that would help him. If any of us were ever sick, he would make us something that would either reduce the fever or help calm our coughs; I always appreciated receiving whatever he gave, even though I never truly thanked him for the gift. If he got hurt or was picked on, he never gave in to the harshness; he stood back up, dusted himself off, and continued on his way, determined to let nothing ruin his day. He may not have been strong in the physical sense, but he was strong mentally and emotionally. This was something I had always admired about him.

Now, to see him at his weakest was something I almost couldn't handle. I couldn't live without somebody who could throw off the traditional 'to battle with that' and 'kill this' aura that floated around the rest of the Vikings in the village. I needed that ray of light that I knew would offer kindness to others instead of stubborn callousness. I craved for someone who wouldn't tell me to suck it up when an injury occurred, but one who would be genuinely concerned about even the tiniest scratch. There was only one person I knew who could give me that, and he was comatose beside me.

I was so caught up in my thoughts that I hadn't even noticed the thin lines of moisture running down my face until I felt a rough tongue lick one away. I opened my eyes, eyelashes thick with the saltine water, and looked at the poor dragon beside me, who was staring at me with questioning eyes and had his ears pinned back with concern. He gave a soft growl and bumped his nose against my shoulder.

I removed one hand from Hiccup's and threw it around Toothless' neck, pressing my face against the smooth scales.

My voice cracked as I muttered, "I just want him to wake up."

And with that, the walls around my heart crumbled, and I cried onto the Night Fury; Viking pride be damned. I emptied out all my emotions and thoughts onto the dragon, and was left with a faint sense of relief from being able to cry without the threat of being judged by anyone next to me. By the time I was finished, I was too tired to walk back home, and simply laid my head on the edge of Hiccup's bed. Before I drifted off, I felt the comforting presences of Hiccup's hand in mine and Toothless' head on my lap as he napped curled around the chair I was in. It was so familiar and relaxing that, for once, no nightmares danced across my eyes that night.

Mom had been able to subdue all the rioters until Stoick came back with the second group. When he had heard what happened, well, let's just say that when the Chief passed by them in the Village now, they would shrink down into the shadows until he was out of their sight.

He must have talked to the other villagers while he was on the island too, because none of them cringed away from the dragons that were now nestled serenely in the village. In fact, some of them had even gotten up enough courage to feed and pet the ones that liked to perch on their homes. The sight made me smile when I had the pleasure to witness it.

Stoick didn't say anything upon finding me asleep in his house the day after I stayed there. He only set a plate of bread and cheese, as well as a glass of ale, on the small table that was set next to the bed's head when I woke up, and smiled at me. I was thankful for his lack of inquisitiveness, probably just as much as he was thankful for having someone look after his son so intently. It was after that that I had set it upon myself to stay by Hiccup's side until he woke up. Whenever Stoick or Gobber came and gave me food, I tore the large portions in half and fed part of it to the loyal dragon at my side. I even giggled a little as he made a face and cringed at the taste of homemade bread when he ate it for the first time.

A few people came in through the next few days. Stoick came and went as he went to pick up the rest of the Berkians stranded on the island, so he was gone half the time. Gobber came in a lot, checking up on Hiccup's leg almost daily. Most days he would nod his head, some he would stare at it like he was willing it to get better faster. He even came in one day and measured around Hiccup's leg. I'm not sure what that was about. I found out the next day when he came in with a unique looking prosthetic, and helped the blacksmith strap it onto Hiccup. I asked him why he wanted to put it on Hiccup before he woke up. "So he can get used to it, even in his sleep" he had said; that was a theory that could be questioned, but I just shrugged and left the matter on that note. Mom came in a few times too, not only to check up on me but to report on how Cress was doing. She surprised me one visit when she threw Toothless some lamb meat, and patted the purring dragon on his head when she came in to check up on me.

The next days came and went, and soon it had been a week since Hiccup's leg had been taken off. I'd seen the injury a few times when Gobber came in to check on him, and I didn't flinch at the sight anymore. The most it did was make me sad that such a punishment was placed on such a good person.

The only thing I couldn't handle was the fact that the boy hadn't woken up yet. Yes, he looked better than he had been previously, he had gotten some color back to his face and his skin didn't feel so feverish anymore, but he hadn't moved at all. I was almost to the point where I wanted to just slap him to see if he'd get up, but I knew I never would.

Today, that fact was especially annoying me. Hiccup looked like he was just sleeping now and ,as worried as I was, I had the strangest urge to jump on his bed to see if his eyes would open to give me an extremely confused look.

But that was normal for me; Toothless was the one who was acting strange today.

He seemed extremely jumpy, but I had no idea why. I'd woken up to him butting his head against my shoulder.

"Toothless? What the heck—whoa!" the chair tumbled over to the side, dragging me down to the floor. He stared down at me, hopping from two feet to the other two as if he were standing on hot coals. His tail was twitching, he was making a strange chirping sound, and I just found the whole thing odd. He was never this jittery.

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously, "Let me guess. You're hungry aren't you?"

He tilted his head and his pupils widened to the point where he looked like a lost puppy. I groaned, Toothless being hungry meant me and ten minutes of dragging a basket my size all the way from the harbor back to the house.

I felt the floor start to shake as the dragon started to hop around the house excitedly. My brows shot up in confusion. Had the dragon's mating season suddenly started up or something? I didn't know what else would've made the dragon act this way.

I got to my feet and he nudged me with his nose multiple times, almost to the point where I fell over again, "Okay, okay! I'm going already! Sheesh."

I walked to the door and out the house before the crazy dragon could do any more damage to my persona. I walked through the village, smiling as my route was sprayed with beautiful colors of dragons decorating the rooftops and streets. It was amazing to see all the Terrors hitching a ride on a human shoulder, the few Gronkles helping a Viking pull carts of wood, a Zippleback rolling a ball back and forth with a small child. A _child_, for Odin's sake! This is what the relationship between dragons and Vikings should have been like all these years. This felt right.

I just wish Hiccup would wake up and see it.

I wish he could see what he had done.

My happy thoughts now turned somber, I walked up to the Viking who was counting the baskets of fish the fishers had caught today. In Berk, we never did everything for ourselves, all we had was shared and traded, and that's just how we liked it. And, from the increased number of mouths we suddenly had to feed, there had to be a lot of job changes to catch enough fish to keep up.

I greeted the older Viking with a wave and asked politely for one full basket. He agreed, but seemed lost to his own mind as he closed off one of the baskets. Before I could hand him anything to trade with it for, he looked down at me and asked, "Tell me, Astrid, is this for Hiccup's dragon? The Night Fury?"

_Okay, random question_, "Yeah, it is."

The man smiled warmly and gleefully handed me the basket, "Alrighty then! You can take this big basket back up to 'im, free of charge me girl."

I stared at him, confused about the generous offer, and he explained, "Think of it as….payment. For saving our bums that is! Now, off with ya lass, I've got fish to count and eels to throw away!"

I smiled and thanked him zealously, and I once again wished Hiccup was awake to be told that in person. Because, when that happens, I was going to be there to relish the look that would appear on his face.

I made my way back up through the village from the docks, and made it about halfway before I could hear cheering.

"Hey Astrid!" Snotlout, on his Monstrous Nightmare, looked down at me from the air. He smiled widely at me, and pointed towards the far-side of Berk. "You might wanna get back to Toothless. He found something awesome this morning."

Before I could ask what he meant, he was gone. I made a mental note to hit him for leaving me hanging later, but I was curious to what Toothless had 'found'.

"Oh gods, I hope it's not a dead sheep or anything. Stoick's going to kill me if he finds out Toothless escaped, the dumb…."

My mumbling ceased as I came upon a large crowd of Vikings, who were gathered around Stoick, Gobber, and Hiccup, and I—

_Wait, Hiccup_! I thought. My eyes opened wide as I saw his form, conversing casually with the adults as if he hadn't been comatose for a whole week. He was just standing there, looking so surprised and happy and awake that I didn't even notice that the basket's strap had slipped off my shoulder. I pushed through the throng of people immediately; I wasn't even there long enough to hear the basket fall to the ground or the fish spill out of it with a sickly squelching sound.

"….I might make a few tweaks to it." I heard his voice flow into my ears, and I almost cried out with joy. He was alive, and he was back. Gods he was back! The Vikings around him chuckled at his joke, and I promptly walked up to him and gave him a good hit to the shoulder, making him stumble slightly on his new leg.

"That's for scaring me," I couldn't help hitting him. He _had_ scared me, and he needed to know that I was not going to allow him to do that to me again.

He spread his arms out to his sides with disbelief, "What? Is it always going to be this way with you? Because I—"

I stared at his mouth while he was talking, and was just so happy to finally hear words coming from him again that I grabbed at his shirt, pulled him close to me, and kissed him. Yes it was short and sweet, but it was still too amazing to describe. I pulled back and almost giggled at the stunned expression on his face. He shook it off quickly, a blush forming in its place as he admitted, "-I could get used to it."

I shot him the truest smile I've had on my face since the day we fought the Green Death, and it never left, even as he turned to receive what looked like new dragon riding gear from Gobber. There were no words to describe how happy I felt on the inside. How much I wanted to make sure he would never get hurt again. How much I wanted to just forget about all the people around us and kiss him senseless to show him just how much he was missed by me. And I would have too, but…

"Night Fury!"

"Get down!"

The dragon hopped across the field of Viking heads, giving a soft roar of excitement at seeing the both of us, earning a laugh from both of us. I watched as he put the gear on Toothless, with his father's help. As they talked, I called for Cress, intending to take a flight alongside Hiccup to make sure he didn't pass out. After all, he had only just woken up, but I knew he wouldn't miss out on flying Toothless for anything. After he was done setting up the equipment on his Night Fury, he turned to me.

"So, you ready to go?" He stood tall, and, seeing the joy across hi features, hugged him tightly.

He gave a soft laugh, and shifted slightly, "Astrid?"

"Quit wiggling around, you crazy dragon tamer. I missed you," this seemed to catch him off guard, but he gave me a big, content grin and hugged me back.

"I'm sorry for scaring you."

I gave him a mock scoff, "Just don't do it again or you'll get beat up big time."

He moved out of the hug, hands held in the air defensively a he walked over to Toothless, who was wagging his tail with excitement, "Yes ma'am."

I smiled, it sure was good to have him back. As we both mounted our dragons, I couldn't help the feeling that bubbled up inside me, telling me that no matter who I met or what I did, I would never find anybody I would love more than this boy right beside me. For once, I was glad to feel something other than stubborn competitiveness fill my soul. I glanced back at Hiccup, and was about to induce the race that was sure to happen between the two of us in the air, but was cut off as he spoke first.

"So….Dad told me you didn't leave my side the whole time I was out. I'm flattered Miss Hoffeson." He wiggled his eyebrows at me, and I laughed at hisjest.

Oh yes, I wouldn't trade this dragon rider for anything.

* * *

**There ya go! Over 7,000 words of HTTYD goodness!**

**Ho-Holy crap! I…I'm done! Wow, I never thought I'd ever get here but look at me now!**

**Well readers, it's been a wonderful ride and I'm so glad I did it. Many, many thanks to my reviewers, watchers, everyone associated with this story! I thank you for your words, your encouragement, and especially your patience with me You were/are all awesome!**

**Now, I happily (yet sadly) leave you with a couple things that you should know in life: **_**Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog **_**is an awesome movie, Mickey Mouse should be President, you don't need a reason to send your loved one flowers, and…..drugs are bad. Don't do them. ;)**

**Adios Readers! (and Happy Holidays!)**

**~Oliver**


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